>still disgusted over car thefts (and probably responding too >emotionally)
after having one of our cars stolen and realizing that the >local police
don't even bother to come out to the "scene" any more
I understand your frustration. As a driver of a perceived "rice" rod ('98
civic HB with wheels), I can say that these vehicles DEFINITELY garner more
unwanted attention than other much more expensive cars. There IS a lot of
"rice" stuff stolen. Someone had it partly right when they mentioned the
import crowd is rowdy because they are young, but that primarily results in
the"rice-boy attitude". There are a lot of import enthusiasts that are
neither young, nor disrespectful or whatever. I think that this element of
the import performance community is the one most likely to be attracted to
autocross.
These types of cars also happen to be the latest gangland vehicles of
choice. It's not the import crowd's fault, just like it's not the lowrider
crowd's fault that it happened to them as well. I'm sure the majority of
actual crime being committed is from the gang element.
About 2 years ago, the wheels were stolen off my car inside a security-gated
apartment complex during a midnight thunder storm. A cop actually graced us
with his presence that morning and gave me some EXTREMELY disturbing news.
Did you know that stealing something off a car is a MISDEMEANOR?? I
couldn't believe this. I asked the cop if I completely stripped a car of
anything valuable, but left the frame sitting there, would that be
considered grand theft. No. Talk about a loophole!. Theives have to move
the vehicle in order for the offense to be considered a felony. I don't
know this for sure, but it's what the officer said. I don't know much about
law, but in my opinion, theft is theft and should be treated harshly.
-brad
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