car break ins Dublin/Wicklow mountains

mattser

Haven't been there for a while. Getting back into hiking for the winter. Are the usual spots as bad as before, or any new hot spots.

Alun

You take your life in your hands wherever you park these days, I think. Nowhere, even the really popular places like Glenmacnass or Baravore, is safe.

sparrowcar

mattser wrote: »

Haven't been there for a while. Getting back into hiking for the winter. Are the usual spots as bad as before, or any new hot spots.

Usual spots are still bad. Safer spots are now bad. It's hit and miss.

Just leave nothing on view and use common sense. I have driven away from car parks that had dodgy people hanging around or a car full of twats parked up. I'd rather scrap a hike or camp or even change my plan than come back to glass all over the ground or even worse the car burnt out.

I (fingers crossed) have not been broken into ever and neither have my oudoor buddies. Pure luck maybe.

Mickeroo

Got broken into in Oaughterard at the mtb track. I don't lock my van anymore. I bring my wallet, money and mp3 player in a dry bag in my backpack. I'd rather let them have a look around inside than spend a fortune on fixing the central locking.

miseian

Got a big stone through the rear window at the Lough Bray carpark a while ago. Didn't even take anything, just random vandalism. It's a terrible that you even have to think about this when getting out there.

RICHIE.39

Sorry to hear that.That's a pity.It just shows how small minded some of us Irish people are at the end of the day.

Mycroft H

Mickeroo wrote: »

Got broken into in Oaughterard at the mtb track. I don't lock my van anymore. I bring my wallet, money and mp3 player in a dry bag in my backpack. I'd rather let them have a look around inside than spend a fortune on fixing the central locking.

Would you not be afraid of someone trying to hotwire it ?

Mickeroo

BX 19 wrote: »

Would you not be afraid of someone trying to hotwire it ?

If they want to get in and hotwire it they can do so whether its locked or not. Having the van stolen is pretty unlikely though, 9 times out of ten they only want to look around inside for money etc. I'd rather just leave nothing in the van, leave it open and not have them ram a screw driver through my locks like last time.

Fuinseog

sparrowcar wrote: »

Usual spots are still bad. Safer spots are now bad. It's hit and miss.

Just leave nothing on view and use common sense. I have driven away from car parks that had dodgy people hanging around or a car full of twats parked up. I'd rather scrap a hike or camp or even change my plan than come back to glass all over the ground or even worse the car burnt out.

I (fingers crossed) have not been broken into ever and neither have my oudoor buddies. Pure luck maybe.

which usual spots do you refer to?
is crone woods risky?
Djouce seemed fine when I went there.
Lough Bray was also fine.

Fuinseog

miseian wrote: »

Got a big stone through the rear window at the Lough Bray carpark a while ago. Didn't even take anything, just random vandalism. It's a terrible that you even have to think about this when getting out there.

sorry to hear that. a lot of people pass by so I would not have thought scumbags would have tried it out.

on an unrelated matter. If I were to leave my car overnight and go camping would people think that I was lost in the mountains?

exaisle

Fuinseog wrote: »

Djouce seemed fine when I went there.

Mine was broken into at Djouce....nothing taken but rear door window smashed in. It was done by somebody on a motorbike....we could hear them from up the mountain.

It tends to be safer at weekends when there are more (decent) people around.
Just use common sense....DO NOT leave anything remotely valuable visible.

The Sally Gap/Wicklow Gap area is now regularly patrolled by a Traffic Corps jeep....hopefully this will put a stop to break-ins in the area.

My own belief is that it's the same small group of gougers all the time...and they'll only need to be caught once..... ;-)

sparrowcar

Fuinseog wrote: »

which usual spots do you refer to?
is crone woods risky?
Djouce seemed fine when I went there.
Lough Bray was also fine.

All of the above and include, Hell fire club, Kilmashogue, any of the small spots along the military road from Sally's to Drummin along the side of Mullaghcleevaun. Also spots around Ticknock, Knockree and Cruagh wood.

In fairness, I don't think I have ever been to any car park in Dublin/Wicklow mountain area that hasn’t had sign of criminal damage. Mostly its broken car glass on the ground or scorch marks, sometimes it's a burnt out car.

I am a very observant person which might have something to do with it.

groovyg

Fuinseog wrote: »

on an unrelated matter. If I were to leave my car overnight and go camping would people think that I was lost in the mountains?

I can't remember where I read it...think it might have been on one of the mtb club sites, but some guy left his car in djouce to go overnight camping and came back next morning to find all the wheels gone. I've camped down near lough dan and my car has been fine but anytime I go hiking I'm always wondering will I come back to a break in as lots of people I know have had their cars broken into.

Fuinseog

so basically its a big risk if I go hiking during the week?

nomdeboardie

exaisle wrote: »

Mine was broken into at Djouce....nothing taken but rear door window smashed in.

Same for me sometime earlier in the year, except driver-door window :mad:
In my case it was on the road outside the southernmost entrance (Lake "Car Park, = car park blocked off)

sparrowcar wrote: »

... broken car glass on the ground or scorch marks, sometimes it's a burnt out car.

I am a very observant person which might have something to do with it.

I remember naively looking at vestiges of such glass beside my pre-breakin car like they were nothing more than interesting archeological artifacts...:o

These days I breathe a sigh of relief on return to the car if I can see a glint of intact windows as I approach.
Scumbags

sparrowcar

Fuinseog wrote: »

so basically its a big risk if I go hiking during the week?

Not if you use common sense and leave nothing of value on view. There is always a risk but I would never let it stop me from going on a mid week hike.

Different matter if I owned a car that was particularly popular for robbing, do you?

vienne86

There was a car broken in to in Cruagh this morning - a window broken, but nothing to take. Another guy said someone was in his car but took nothing - his driving licence was there, but not touched. He possibly left the car open, in error, but may have saved himself a breakage as a result. We reckoned they were looking for money - there was a sat nav visible in our car, but it was not touched. That said, they may have been disturbed - it is very open and close to the road there. Also, the car which had its window broken apparently had an alarm. Cruagh is a great facility, but this kind of thing puts you off going there.

Tabnabs

Really sorry to hear that, the quieter days are my preferred time to go up the hills. That's just appalling to hear though.

Wicklowrider

Was in djouce and an old couple advised me to keep everything out of sight.
It wasn't until I came back an hour later and saw them talking to the gardai I realised they had interrupted and chased away robbers from another car.
I'd worry about such frail creatures tackling scumbags but they'd won the day...Bloke who owned the car returned shortly after. He'd left golf clubs and other things in plain view - didn't appear too bothered tbh.

mattser

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Was in djouce and an old couple advised me to keep everything out of sight.
It wasn't until I came back an hour later and saw them talking to the gardai I realised they had interrupted and chased away robbers from another car.
I'd worry about such frail creatures tackling scumbags but they'd won the day...Bloke who owned the car returned shortly after. He'd left golf clubs and other things in plain view - didn't appear too bothered tbh.

What day of the week & what time of the day, just for interest ?

Wicklowrider

mattser wrote: »

What day of the week & what time of the day, just for interest ?

Wednesday afternoon, so just my car, old folks car and the car that was broken into.

vienne86

Tabnabs wrote: »

Really sorry to hear that, the quieter days are my preferred time to go up the hills. That's just appalling to hear though.

Agreed - myself and a friend bring a dog up there. It is much quieter, with only a few dogs mid week. We just feel really disappointed about this and I am not sure we will continue going up there now.

hmmm

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Bloke who owned the car returned shortly after. He'd left golf clubs and other things in plain view - didn't appear too bothered tbh.

Gob****es like him are part of the problem. If people stopped leaving valuables in their cars, visible or hidden, these vermin wouldn't be trying to break in in the first place.

Alun

hmmm wrote: »

Gob****es like him are part of the problem. If people stopped leaving valuables in their cars, visible or hidden, these vermin wouldn't be trying to break in in the first place.

Not necessarily, both my car and a fellow walker's were broken into at Glenmacnass without anything being in sight at all, as usual.

It's the tourists that really pay these peoples' 'wages' though. I remember seeing a notice up on a notice board at the Glendalough Visitors' Centre from a German family listing all the stuff they'd had stolen from their car asking for their return if any one found them (!!) .. wallets, money, credit cards, passports, cameras, mp3 players, movie camera etc. etc. Unbelievable.

loobylou

They break in because they know that some vehicles WILL have valuables in them, hidden or otherwise.
If there was no return for them they would soon go elsewhere.
Lets all try to make that happen by not leaving anything of value behind.

munchkin_utd

Alun wrote: »

It's the tourists that really pay these peoples' 'wages' though. I remember seeing a notice up on a notice board at the Glendalough Visitors' Centre from a German family listing all the stuff they'd had stolen from their car asking for their return if any one found them (!!) .. wallets, money, credit cards, passports, cameras, mp3 players, movie camera etc. etc. Unbelievable.

for fup sakes.
Maybe people come from countries where it isnt almost taken for granted that some scumbag is going to smash your car up and rob all your stuff?
Theres wee bastards in every country, but in Ireland there does seem to be another level of scumbag on the prowl than coming from somewhere "out foreign" you really dont expect it to be as bad as it is.

and as for the tourists, what ARE they supposed to do with their stuff?
Supposed they landed off the boat in Rosslare and wanted to visit a place or 2 on their way to Dublin (or Donegal) like Avoca or Glendalough. And you have a car packed to the roof with all the crap you need for a 2 or 3 week family holiday.

Should you avoid visiting anywhere as a tourist when en route to your accomodation?
Basically meaning that a tourist going to Donegal can only see Donegal, i.e. stuff thats local to the place to stash their belongings.

I used to warn people off visiting Ireland because of the prohibitive price of things.
Now that the place is cheaper because of the recession its now affordable but you have to factor in getting robbed!
Is there no happy medium?

Donny5

munchkin_utd wrote: »

for fup sakes.
Maybe people come from countries where it isnt almost taken for granted that some scumbag is going to smash your car up and rob all your stuff?
Theres wee bastards in every country, but in Ireland there does seem to be another level of scumbag on the prowl than coming from somewhere "out foreign" you really dont expect it to be as bad as it is.

and as for the tourists, what ARE they supposed to do with their stuff?
Supposed they landed off the boat in Rosslare and wanted to visit a place or 2 on their way to Dublin (or Donegal) like Avoca or Glendalough. And you have a car packed to the roof with all the crap you need for a 2 or 3 week family holiday.

Should you avoid visiting anywhere as a tourist when en route to your accomodation?
Basically meaning that a tourist going to Donegal can only see Donegal, i.e. stuff thats local to the place to stash their belongings.

I used to warn people off visiting Ireland because of the prohibitive price of things.
Now that the place is cheaper because of the recession its now affordable but you have to factor in getting robbed!
Is there no happy medium?

I agree; it's not the victim's fault that they were robbed. It's the fault of the thief, and no-one else.

hmmm

Donny5 wrote: »

I agree; it's not the victim's fault that they were robbed. It's the fault of the thief, and no-one else.

This isn't about fault, this is about how best to reduce the number of break-ins. If these guys are caught, they will have a 100 previous convictions, and some judge who lives in a 10 acre walled compound in Foxrock is going to give them a 1 month jail sentence. They'll go straight back to doing what they were doing when they get out.

People need to stop leaving valuables in their cars.

We need to encourage councils to provide parking spots for walkers & tourists that can be secured. This generally means larger car parks with someone manning the gate. I'd be happy to pay a few quid for car parks like Cruagh if there was someone on the gate keeping an eye on things. It's not foolproof, but it at least makes the thief's job harder.

Maybe some of the larger clubs or organisations need to consider some sort of carpark marshal system. These guys are targeting large events where they know there will be lots of cars present.

hmmm

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Should you avoid visiting anywhere as a tourist when en route to your accomodation?
Basically meaning that a tourist going to Donegal can only see Donegal, i.e. stuff thats local to the place to stash their belongings.

Basic cop-on is required for tourists everywhere in the world, I don't think Ireland is any different. It would be nice if we could provide monitored carparks at all high profile locations, but in their absence leaving all your wallets & passports & electronics in an unattended car is, sadly, unwise in most parts of the world.

Fuinseog

the best thing to do is go for a hike in heavy rain. Scumbags do not go outdoors when it rains.
am off to Crone woods tomorrow. given that its a Sunday there should be plenty of people about, hopefully.

MB Lacey

I left car parked opposite start of Lough Dan walk, came back few hours later to smashed back passenger window - there was nothing on view and nothing in the car anyway - guess they thought I might have left purse under driver's seat.
It was a very cold drive back to Dublin, that was 2 years ago - and it was my birthday!
I now leave glove compartment open when I park around Wicklow as a possible deterrent - I think it's all pretty hit and miss tbh.
Saw 2 cars with smashed windows parked up at the first car park on the left on military rd near Sally Gap, and remnants of smashed windows at a car park further down that rd too - all recently.
It's a tough call, I still go walking and park my car and just hope for the best.