Parking on Tuesday

[Wycombe Royal]

I read the first, and last sentence of your post. The first sentence, and I quote, "It isn't that safe anywhere in Whitley" which IMO is slightly more targetted than a generalisation, is backed up by your second sentence "That applies to any areas....".

You've made a point in your first post which is in itself, misinformed, and then followed up with a comment in your second post which completely contradicts it.

Why?

Your point, although valid in terms of the "general state of the nation" has no validity in the context of this thread, unless you wish to provide evidence to the contrary, in which case I will accept it.

I would suggest then, that my suggestion, despite your denial, is in fact based more in fact then any of your previous points due mainly to the fact that you have not lived in Whitley and therefore are basing your comments on common folklore. fact

It is a known fact that cars are more at risk of vandalisation and break-ins during football matches than at most other times (last night there were incidences of this).

I have only ever had my car broken in to once - where was I at the time? At a football match.

That still remains my point. You park your car on a street and go to a football match and it is at a higher risk of car crime.

As for my comment being misinformed - I know people that lived in Whitley so I know what the area is like, and I know people who have had their car broken in to in Whitley. So how exactly is that misinformed?

However I really could give a toss if people park their cars there and get broken in to. I'll just continue to park my car in a nice safe secure car park monitored by CCTV.

And as for not having lived in Whitley - well I'm very lucky then aren't I?

[Hoop Blah]

I had my car broken into at the top of Acre Road whilst watching Reading in the early days of Madejski Stadium.

I also had my car broken into just off Prospect Park whilst at Elm Park too.

When I reported the breakins the Police blamed the football. At the time I did point out that it wasn't anything to do with the football but more the opportunity an obvioulsy unaccompanied car presented the crimals they were paid to catch but the Police were more than happy to blame yet another crime statistic on football so that fell on deaf ears.

Hope that clears things up.

[Spirit of Elm Park]

vandalisation? Is that even a word? Vandalism

I think you are missing my point.

I'm not knocking your social observations, I just find it funny that you make them about a place where you have never experienced the "problem" in 4 years.

Whitley is as safe as the next place as long as you follow the rules.

[Spirit of Elm Park]

I had my car broken into at the top of Acre Road whilst watching Reading in the early days of Madejski Stadium.

I also had my car broken into just off Prospect Park whilst at Elm Park too.

When I reported the breakins the Police blamed the football. At the time I did point out that it wasn't anything to do with the football but more the opportunity an obvioulsy unaccompanied car presented the crimals they were paid to catch but the Police were more than happy to blame yet another crime statistic on football so that fell on deaf ears.

Hope that clears things up.

It doesn't, but thanks

Football didn't cause it, and being unaccompanied didn't cause it, having something on show in said vehicle that looked of value or intrigued the thief....now that might cause it.

....follow the rules.

[BLUES & ROYAL]

Last night I noticed that all the cars parked on the grass verge along the road that the Compaq and Hotel car parks are located had Fixed Penalty notices on their windscreens.

Upon returning to my car another vehicle that was parked on the verge on the Basingstoke road (Compaq side) had the "Old Bill" in attendance.
A vehicle that had been broken into perhaps?

[Wycombe Royal]

Football didn't cause it, and being unaccompanied didn't cause it, having something on show in said vehicle that looked of value or intrigued the thief....now that might cause it.

....follow the rules.

That's right is it? When my car was broken in to it had nothing on show, but they broke in to 4 cars in a row just because they knew the cars were unoccupied and knew they would be until a certain time. They took a chance that the cars might have something valuable in them.

It is called opportunism on behalf of the thief. Just as it is with house break-ins - thiefs look for times when houses are left un-occupied and they will quite often break in when they know that a house will be left unoccupied for a few hours whilst the owner is at work or even longer if they know the person is on holiday. You can "follow the rules" to lower the risks but you can't eliminate them and unfortunately parking a car and walking off to a football match leaves your car at a higher risk - but there is little that you can do about that if that is where you choose to park.

[Wycombe Royal]

I think you are missing my point.

I'm not knocking your social observations, I just find it funny that you make them about a place where you have never experienced the "problem" in 4 years.

Whitley is as safe as the next place as long as you follow the rules.

I think you are missing my point. But I can't be arsed to go over that again so just for you I'll re-post my original comment (with grammatical corrections) with the important bit highlighted:

It isn't that safe anywhere in the Whitley/Whitley Wood especiallly when those that enjoy a bit of car crime know that the cars parked in the streets in that area will be unattended whilst the football is going on. That applies to any areas of any town in the country where cars are parked for football matches.

.

[Spirit of Elm Park]

I think you are missing my point. But I can't be arsed to go over that again so just for you I'll re-post my original comment (with grammatical corrections) with the important bit highlighted:

It isn't that safe anywhere in the Whitley/Whitley Wood especiallly when those that enjoy a bit of car crime know that the cars parked in the streets in that area will be unattended whilst the football is going on. That applies to any areas of any town in the country where cars are parked for football matches.

.

If we're being pedantic ( which it seems):

That applies to any areas of any town in the country where cars are parked for football matches.

Why does it have to be Football matches? Surely a generalisation as sweeping as that should include parking your car for any reason, which is in fact the case. (good debate by the way )

[Wycombe Royal]

Why does it have to be Football matches?

Because this is a football forum so I was relating it to that. Your point is valid.

[Hoop Blah]

Why does it have to be Football matches? Surely a generalisation as sweeping as that should include parking your car for any reason, which is in fact the case. (good debate by the way )

Your right it doesn't have to be football but the fact you've gone to football almost guarantee's you'll be gone for 2 hours (and most of the other cars parked nearby). Unless a theif knows exactly what your doing at any other time your parked car may be returned to at any minute.

Whilst parked for football there is a nice 2 hour window for the opportunist theif to access a nice supply of unattended cars, can you say the same for a car park at a shopping centre, sports ground, theme park etc etc?

[Spirit of Elm Park]

Why does it have to be Football matches? Surely a generalisation as sweeping as that should include parking your car for any reason, which is in fact the case. (good debate by the way )

Your right it doesn't have to be football but the fact you've gone to football almost guarantee's you'll be gone for 2 hours (and most of the other cars parked nearby). Unless a theif knows exactly what your doing at any other time your parked car may be returned to at any minute.

Whilst parked for football there is a nice 2 hour window for the opportunist theif to access a nice supply of unattended cars, can you say the same for a car park at a shopping centre, sports ground, theme park etc etc?

Obviously, yes

All of those locations you quote are well known for attacks by opportunistic thieves. Shopping centre - 2 hours?, Sports ground - Could be longer then 2 hours if a social club is involved, Theme Park - All day?

Take a street in Whitley, during a match, and 10 parked cars. Which owners are at the football, and which owners live there? Do you see where I am coming from?

I see where you are coming but IMO you are just generalising without any real evidence.

My evidence, as I have stated, is that I have parked on the same road in Whitley, since the Madejski opened, and not once have I or any of the cars around me ever been broken into. Luck? I don't think so.

EDIT: You need to notice the difference between opportunistic - Spur of the moment, so a 2 hour window is irrelevent, and Premeditated - waiting for owners to leave, then attacking. The premeditated thieves generally will not work in whitley as, dare i say it, they live there and you don't shit on your own doorstep.