What do you do if you witness a theft?

neilled

Here's a question for ya. What do you do if you witness a theft in progress. There was one very drunken night in temple bar (around september) that I was walking up towards the porterhouse from the square and in one of side streets I spotted two tracksuit wearing individuals breaking a cable lock on a bicycle. I stopped and looked at them and one goes "nothing going on here bud, on with ya" before the metalic ping of the lock going and then the two scummers cycling off. Ok it was a cheap hack of a bike but it belong to someone. I wasn't going to challenge them (drunk as I was) on my own but what course of action do you take? Call 999? Any takers?

Gavin

Call 999 I'd have thought. You could also call 11850 and ask for the local Garda station, if you knew what the local one was.

Although this can be painfully slow. I called 11850 for the local station once when I saw a fight, bleedin 11850 has some sort of advertisement playing and asking if I wanted the number texted etc. Just put me through, one of the geezers is walking towards me !!!

Chips Lovell

Eh, stop them?

Hagar

Ring 112*, it's not your job to clean up the streets, leave that to Commissioner Gordon and Batman.



*It's Jan 2009 lads, 999 pffft... I mean what are yiz like...

barrabus

shot em in the face to deprive em of an open coffin at their funeral .....













joke!

neilled

el tonto wrote: »

Eh, stop them?

Ideally I would have liked to but I they had a that sweaty junkie look about them. Frankly I wasn't going to risk a needle for bike shaped object.

niceonetom

surreptitious photography? and call the guards obviously.

el tonto wrote: »

Eh, stop them?

Eh, how?

NeilMcEoigheann

el tonto wrote: »

Eh, stop them?

[quote=niceonetom surreptitious photography? and call the guards obviously.

Quote:
Originally Posted by el tonto
Eh, stop them?

Eh, how? [/quote]
have you seen El tonto, arms like tree trunks and such other super hero qualities. also due to another thread he now has a crew

Lumen

neilled wrote: »

I spotted two tracksuit wearing individuals...before the metalic ping of the lock going and then the two scummers cycling off....what course of action do you take? Call 999? Any takers?

That's so wrong. Tracksuits you say?

I suggest printing out and laminating a few copies of this in case it happens again.

Chips Lovell

niceonetom wrote: »

Eh, how?

It usually doesn't have to involve violence. Just make it clear that you aren't going away. They'll make all sorts of threats, but most of them will do so while walking away.

Lumen

el tonto wrote: »

It usually doesn't have to involve violence. Just make it clear that you aren't going away. They'll make all sorts of threats, but most of them will do so while walking away.

That's a monumental bluff, since there are two of them and at least one is likely to be wielding bolt croppers.

I now pronounce you Chuck Norris.

niceonetom

el tonto wrote: »

It usually doesn't have to involve violence. Just make it clear that you aren't going away. They'll make all sorts of threats, but most of them will do so while walking away.

i think these people react differently to you than they do to me.

Ghost Rider

I don't think the OP was concerned about his own use of violence!

Seriously, though: I wouldn't recommend anyone, however well built or qualified in martial arts, to take on two lads robbing a bike. Unless they're 12 years old or younger, I wouldn't assume your righteousness will be a match for their desperation.

el tonto wrote: »

It usually doesn't have to involve violence. Just make it clear that you aren't going away. They'll make all sorts of threats, but most of them will do so while walking away.

scottreynolds

neilled wrote: »

Here's a question for ya. What do you do if you witness a theft in progress. There was one very drunken night in temple bar (around september) that I was walking up towards the porterhouse from the square and in one of side streets I spotted two tracksuit wearing individuals breaking a cable lock on a bicycle. I stopped and looked at them and one goes "nothing going on here bud, on with ya" before the metalic ping of the lock going and then the two scummers cycling off. Ok it was a cheap hack of a bike but it belong to someone. I wasn't going to challenge them (drunk as I was) on my own but what course of action do you take? Call 999? Any takers?

Say, "Dad, Mum is that you? "

Eoin D

Depends on the circumstances! Too many variables...

No. of them
No. in my group
Who I'm with
Dodginess factor & hood up multiplier
Armament of theives
Their blood alcohol level
My blood alcohol level
lighting
Distance to nearest hospital
Time of night and likelyhood of Garda response
No. of escape routes
No. of action films seen within previous 7 days
Price of bike
Presence of screaming innocent woman




Ah but seriously I'd like to think I would do the good thing but I won't know till it happens

MREGAN

Take the broken bike lock and beat them with it. Even if you start shouting its gonna put them off.

Scum like that are getting away with it cause they know they can. If they think they are gonna get a slap for it they wont be as confident next time.

fenris

Shout, photograph them with your phone when they turn around, they may run off, if not hope that the flash confuses them them enough for you to run while forwarding the photo to someones email so that if they catch you, you will have a photo even if they kill you / your phone.

Maybe we should have a boards caught in the act section that you can send photos too!

DirkVoodoo

You are also hoping that they can't run faster than you. As was mentioned before, as much as it might seem like a noble idea to take these guys on, plenty of people have ended up getting the crap beaten out of them for trying to do similar.

If you can frighten them away by shouting at them, fine. Just don't get yourself hurt trying to be a hero.

Raam

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

If you can frighten them away by shouting at them, fine.

They aren't Sand People.

DirkVoodoo

Everyone knows scumbags walk in single file to hide their numbers, you'll never become a jedi with that attitude!

Gavin

They are a primitive people

Chips Lovell

Lumen wrote: »

That's a monumental bluff, since there are two of them and at least one is likely to be wielding bolt croppers.

Not really. It's worked before, both with car and bike thieves. You've got to remember that these guys are out to rob something, not get into a scrap. There are plenty of other easy targets out there, so they always back down.

niceonetom wrote: »

i think these people react differently to you than they do to me.

If you are worried about confrontation, walk away to a safe distance but still in sight, whip out the mobile and loudly call the cops. They'll call you every name under the sun, but they'll go.

blorg

MREGAN wrote: »

Take the broken bike lock and beat them with it. Even if you start shouting its gonna put them off.

Scum like that are getting away with it cause they know they can. If they think they are gonna get a slap for it they wont be as confident next time.

Wow I didn't see a thread going this direction, on the internet.