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  #1  
Old 07-07-2011, 09:57 PM
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To catch a delinquent

I think one of the neighborhood delinquents is f'in with my car. I have recently noticed odd scuffs, scrapes and gouges on my rear bumper as well as what seemed to be more dings in the doors than I could remember. The door dings could be your run of the mill idiots in parking lots. But the rear bumper stuff seemed very odd. The gouges are down to the black plastic and there are several of them scattered over the bumper.

I often park the car in the back of the driveway so my kids can play basketball. So I wondered if someone might be doing something to it as they walked down the street and especially at night. Tonight my wife asked me to move the cars back toward the house. When I went outside it was dark but I could swear I saw some movement on the road near my front yard. I moved one car and then I decided to drive the second car down the road to see what I could find. I saw a couple of flashlights moving up the driveway of one of my neighbors. This is home to a couple of little punks about the same age as my kids. Coincidence? Maybe.

What is interesting is that these kids are spoiled rotten. In particular, they have every motorized vehicle known to man. They have ATVs, motorcycles, motorized scooters, mopeds and seadoos and that is just the kids. The dad has more gas engined toys. They aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer and, recently, they have also slipped in the athletics pecking order. I wonder if maybe being the kings of gas engined vehicles was all they had left and felt theatened that someone had something unique (with a gas engine) they didn't.

I want to bait and nail them in the act. My idea is to grab an IR camera from work and connect it to my computer. I can illuminate the front yard with an invisible IR light source. I think there is software that will analyze video images and store clips any time it determines the image has changed significantly. I'm thinking of parking the car in the back of the driveway several days in a row to see if I can snag them.

Any suggestions on software or hardware I could use?
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  #2  
Old 07-07-2011, 10:07 PM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

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This is the Hardware I would use!

It works every time! Good luck.
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  #3  
Old 07-07-2011, 10:15 PM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

Not sure about software, but how about baby powder near the bumper to catch footsteps. They might notice that though if they have flashlights. I have to give you credit for not going over there and killing them. You could always jack the car up a bit and hide under it Good luck and keep us informed.
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  #4  
Old 07-07-2011, 10:17 PM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

There's definitely motion detection cam freeware out there. I downloaded some a good while ago... unfortunately, I can't remember the name.
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  #5  
Old 07-08-2011, 06:16 AM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

$100 buys you a DEER Cam Hunters us them to check out hunting areas. They tie them to a tree and the camera takes a picture of anything that goes in front of it. They are also able to take short 10 sec video clips or multi shots. They have flash or IR if you pay a little more .
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Old 07-08-2011, 06:57 AM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

Quote:
Originally Posted by fun173 View Post
Not sure about software, but how about baby powder near the bumper to catch footsteps. They might notice that though if they have flashlights. I have to give you credit for not going over there and killing them. You could always jack the car up a bit and hide under it Good luck and keep us informed.
I gave my wife, who is friends with their mother, two choices. One was to go over their immediately and drop the hammer on them. Even if they aren't responsible for the stuff on the car, who lets their kids play flashlight tag in the road at night? Go into the woods for godsake.....
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  #7  
Old 07-08-2011, 06:58 AM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

Did the other option involve a tazer?
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  #8  
Old 07-08-2011, 07:03 AM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

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Originally Posted by LetItSnow View Post
There's definitely motion detection cam freeware out there. I downloaded some a good while ago... unfortunately, I can't remember the name.
I recall the same thing. We have IR cameras at work and I build IR lasers for a living. That combination plus some free software should do the trick. If I am right, their parents will be looking at a painting bill and the little brats will learn a valuable lesson...don't mess with people with twice your IQ. I have seen families like this in the past. One of the kids (and I know which one in this case) inevitably ends up knocking up a girl and getting hooked on drugs.
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Old 07-08-2011, 07:04 AM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

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Originally Posted by Hocrest View Post
Did the other option involve a tazer?
No, the other option was to try and snag them in the act with a camera. In some ways I like this option more because I can force them to pay for the damages.
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1996 Polo Green Subaru SVX LSi, 168,XXX miles, Redline D4 ATF, Redline 75W90 gear oil, K&N HP-4001 Oil Filter, Mobil 1 5W50 FS (3qt) and 5W30 High Mileage (4qt) Oil Blend, Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid, AC Delco A975C Air Filter, NGK BKR6EIX-11 plugs, Centric Rotors, Power Stop Evolution Carbon Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads
2005 Gray Acura RL, 165,XXX miles, Redline D4 ATF with Lubegard Platinum Protectant, Mobil 1 5W20 High Mileage Extended Performance Oil
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Old 07-08-2011, 11:01 AM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

Hmmm. Might be the teenagers, but my first thought was it might be a cat sharpening its claws on your bumper. I think I read a post some time ago about that happening.
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  #11  
Old 07-08-2011, 12:14 PM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

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Originally Posted by DaveSVX View Post
Hmmm. Might be the teenagers, but my first thought was it might be a cat sharpening its claws on your bumper. I think I read a post some time ago about that happening.
Nope. You have to see the marks. Some are chips and some are gouges. There are also some scratches but that isn't as bad as the gouges.
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1996 Polo Green Subaru SVX LSi, 168,XXX miles, Redline D4 ATF, Redline 75W90 gear oil, K&N HP-4001 Oil Filter, Mobil 1 5W50 FS (3qt) and 5W30 High Mileage (4qt) Oil Blend, Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid, AC Delco A975C Air Filter, NGK BKR6EIX-11 plugs, Centric Rotors, Power Stop Evolution Carbon Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads
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Old 07-08-2011, 12:52 PM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

Quote:
Originally Posted by Huskymaniac View Post
a valuable lesson...don't mess with people with twice your IQ.
....+1....
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  #13  
Old 07-08-2011, 01:37 PM
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Re: To catch a delinquent

Call the police and report that your car is being vandalized. This sets the ground work. Get your camera and get proof. Once you have proof then go back to the police. Don’t handle this yourself or have your wife get involved. No good can come of this. The police won’t do anything unless you have proof and you shouldn’t do anything unless you have proof.

Once it is on tape you have already involved the police. If you get grief from the kids parents for not coming to them then you can say you never suspected your children and once the police were involved that was the end of it. This is in no way the same as a neighbor being mad you have a junk car in your yard.

You have to live next to these kids and people for many more years.
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