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johncolanduonitoday at 12:21 AM2 repliesview on HN

How useful is a GPS position for theft prevention? IME cops are not interested in doing more than filing a report after a theft, even if you have a live GPS location of the item for them. Do you try and go get it yourself?


Replies

h00kwurmtoday at 2:07 AM

i can speak to this as i had my motorcycle stolen on NYE last year in Santa Monica with an airtag in it. the Santa Monica police said “smart, but it’s in LA so we can’t help you get it. tell the LAPD.”. it took me seven hours of calls to the LAPD while personally hunting down my bike in the shadiest areas of LA, and being a block away from getting it myself, did they come. so yes, if you’re in LA, you basically get it yourself.

in my case, the damage was so much i wish i had just left it stolen and taken the bigger insurance payout.

burnt-resistortoday at 2:24 AM

In Austin, they won't lift a finger because they're underfunded and don't have the resources to address nonviolent crime.