# Toronto Police Advise Residents to make Car Keys Easily Available to Thieves **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037 "2024-03-19T12:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/21 "2024-03-19T16:56:49Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I live in a rural part of the Midwest. Just about everyone around here is armed-to-the-teeth. A person would have to be nuts to break into a home around here, especially if the homeowner is inside. Yup. We live rural mountains. Colorado. The only reason I lock my house at night is because of black bears. Do it in the spring (when they are looking for calories) and the fall (when they are loading up for hibernation). If a person comes and asks for help, I give it to them. But you had best knock first. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/22 "2024-03-19T17:05:45Z")
The article variously said “at the front door” and “by the front door.” But which side of the front door, indoors or out? Semi-serious question. If you’re aiming to prevent confrontation of any kind, leaving the keys outside the door might prevent the break-in in the first place, not that I’m endorsing this. If I’m leaving them inside for the purpose of getting the criminals to take my car keys and get the hell back outside already (having done just the minimal effort of breaking down the door, without bothering to kill me) I might go further than just laying them about anywhere. It’s dark and sometimes kind of cluttered in my entryway; the keys probably need a big red arrow pointing to them. Is that what the Faraday Pouch is for, to draw attention to the keys? I barely know what that is, but it sounds like in Toronto, Faraday Bags are as ubiquitous as phone cases. Are they bright and attention-getting? By the way – could the initialism “GTA” be any part of the car theft problem? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/23 "2024-03-19T17:41:21Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > Is that what the Faraday Pouch is for, to draw attention to the keys? That is the only bit of this advice that makes sense. The faraday cage is so your car doesn’t think you are nearby and unlock the car for you. This is a problem with modern remote locks, if you leave your keys in the front of your house and your driveway is not too big, it will totally leave your car unlocked all night. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/24 "2024-03-19T17:48:35Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > If the police warned you of roving bands of home invaders seeking car keys, would you take this advice about making your car easier for them to steal? NO! However, it would make me prepared to shoot them if they tried to break into my home and look for them. My recipe: put 3 in the chest, put a knife in their hand, and call 911. > [@pullin](#): > > Any ideas why home invasions/auto theft has risen so dramatically there? Crime pays and pays big. Criminals victimize people with impunity. If they are caught, they are out before you know it, and that’s if they even serve any time at all. Criminals already wearing ankle monitors (which no one is apparently monitoring) are caught committing new crimes quite often in this region. It’s pathetic and disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/25 "2024-03-19T17:55:01Z")
Welcome to Thunderdome. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/26 "2024-03-19T18:13:34Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > put 3 in the chest, put a knife in their hand, and call 911. I hope you’re not serious about #2. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/27 "2024-03-19T18:16:18Z")
Hope the homeowner isn’t cleaning one of them when they break in. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/28 "2024-03-19T18:17:47Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > The same thing I do now, drop the keys in the faraday box. I suppose the courts would call a metal box holding the keys wired to 110v an “infernal device” and I would be in a great deal of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/29 "2024-03-19T18:22:20Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Leaving your keys in your (locked) house isn’t exactly leaving the keys in ignition. If you’re locking your front door, then you’re just encouraging them to break a window or kick in the door to gain access - and then they’re still not gonna know your keys are right there, so they’re gonna come find you and get you to tell them where the keys are. It’d be best to just leave the keys in the ignition in the first place. > [@SanVito](#): > > Strikes me there’s a number of posters in this thread who feel very confident about resisting a burglary, even considering ‘deadly force’. Is it really worth violence to protect a lump of metal? Maybe I just don’t understand men. Thieves think it’s worth violence to take a lump of metal. I’m not boasting about huge levels of confidence on my part, but I can certainly appreciate the desire to resist a violent theft with a violent defense. What’s that, you say? You’ve got insurance? That’s great. Now when your car is stolen, you’ll only be out for the $1000 deductible, and maybe another $1500 in sales tax. Plus all the time you spend dealing with the theft, and tracking down a suitable replacement car to buy, and dealing with being carless in the interim. Plus the thieves haven’t been caught, so they’ll be back in a couple of months to take your latest car. How much will you allow to be taken from you before you resort to violence to defend what’s yours? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/30 "2024-03-19T18:39:31Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > thieves broke into his kitchen, were spooked by his (very small) dog Because I’ve always had dachshunds, that’s the dog I’m picturing, and it amuses me (as we say “Death from the Ankles Down!”). But looking at your avatar, I’m guessing it’s a Maltese? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/31 "2024-03-19T18:55:17Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If you’re locking your front door, then you’re just encouraging them to break a window or kick in the door to gain access - and then they’re still not gonna know your keys are right there, so they’re gonna come find you and get you to tell them where the keys are. > > It’d be best to just leave the keys in the ignition in the first place. You also need to keep several extra cars around, so that you’ll have something to give the later thieves after the first ones steal the first car. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/32 "2024-03-19T19:02:03Z")
I just immediately give my new cars to thieves. I assume Toronto is like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVMTfGQe51g) now. (That’s a link to the LA Story ATM scene, BTW) ---
**Author:** ![Imuseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbce88/32.png) [@Imuseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imuseless)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/33 "2024-03-19T23:19:22Z")
Yeah you’re right. I live in Canada and if you tried defending yourself using lethal force from someone trying to physically assault you then you get charged. It happened to store worker in Ontario Canada trying to defend himself from a robber who wielded a baseball bat by the store worker grabbing the baseball bat from the robber and beat him with it outside. The robber got the bail and the store worker went to jail with no bail. ---
**Author:** ![Imuseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbce88/32.png) [@Imuseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imuseless)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/34 "2024-03-19T23:22:01Z")
Sorry to hear that. Do these car thieves not realize the people they steal cars from will lose their jobs and end up homeless with their families? Because some places don’t have good public transportation and requires cars just like some jobs require driving to the workplace. ---
**Author:** ![Imuseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbce88/32.png) [@Imuseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imuseless)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/35 "2024-03-19T23:31:12Z")
Most criminals end up homeless after prison in America. Because some states ban criminals from section 8 housing and food stamps if it was drug crimes. Also sex offenders in some states have residency restrictions like can’t stay 500 ft, 2500 ft and 3000 ft from where childrens congregate like schools, parks, playgrounds and churches so they end up homeless. There are homeless encampments sex offenders and homeless criminals in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Luckily Florida has death penalty for child molestors so it will stop the sex offender encampments for sex offenders convicted of child molestion. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/36 "2024-03-19T23:37:43Z")
Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/37 "2024-03-19T23:38:23Z")
Car thieves don’t care about the people they rob, clearly. Insurance? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/38 "2024-03-19T23:39:25Z")
Have not heard of sex offenders camps in Oklahoma. I think this is fear talk. (Remember there’s a lot of crap online about middle America that is just not true) ---
**Author:** ![Imuseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbce88/32.png) [@Imuseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imuseless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/39 "2024-03-20T00:08:39Z")
Go on YouTube and search up homeless sex offenders. You will see ton of homeless sex offenders video like the Miami Dade Florida encampment. Also I’ve read articles online about homeless sex offender camps in some states in America. ---
**Author:** ![Imuseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbce88/32.png) [@Imuseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imuseless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037/40 "2024-03-20T00:09:11Z")
Oh I forgot about that. Sorry for my ignorance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-police-advise-residents-to-make-car-keys-easily-available-to-thieves/999037.md?page=3)