FYI:

My truck ('97 E350) was burlarized 9/22/05 outside of Home Depot at Butterfield (56) and 355 in Downers Grove at 5:00 PM. roughly $2000 worth of power and hand tools. Downers Grove police were helpful, but I will refrain from publicly compromising the investigation. Just beware, last time was 3-4 weeks before. Happening all over around here, and from reading archived posts, common all over. Just (to borrow from homeland security) to "be vigilant". And if you find my tools feel free to be vigilante as well.

My truck had no alarm and no suppimental locks. One thing I put off one day too many. These trucks are too easy to get into.

From what the cop told me, they stake the place out and as soon as you go in is when you get hit. I am considering when I go to these stores as a matter of routine, going in one door, and walking down to the next and back out to check the van (with cell phone in one hand and 4' 3/4 rigid in the other - 911 "I need an ambulance, maybe some police too")

heads up

Home Depot, Lowes, etc are notorious for this. I am very careful myself, and I try to not go there with a lot of stuff in my vehicle.

Many Home Depot's now have security cameras inside the store and out. The older stores are having them added. Were they any help in this case?

The box stores are all higher in pricing, then our local supply houses, so the risk is just not worth going there, pipe some wire and cable, but everything else is on the high side, this year alone we saved well over 30% buying from our local houses.

Agreed LK. I was trying to locate a Broan S80LU to match an existing elswhere in the house, and since it was discontinued my suppliers didn't have it. I rarely buy electric parts there unless it is an oddball. I will usually shop tools, but maybe not any more. The crime occured at 5:00 PM. I didn't notice until I got home, ate dinner, put the kids to bed, and went outside to install some new shelving in the truck at 8:00.

Well the first thing I did was call Home Depot to inform them that a crime had been commited at their store so they could save the tape. "Well how do you know it happened here??" "We don't even know it happen here." "I can't give you any information about our security system." "Our security people won't be here until 8:00AM"

Gee thanks for the help. Glad we're in this together. It's not like I'm going sue. But I sure have told everyone how UNHELPFUL you've been. But here's what gets me. The cop was out there last month reviewing tape. I asked "do you think you could get a plate?" "No, the camera isn't high enough resolution to get a plate number."

!!???!!?? what is the point of the camera? "Yes, we can confirm there was a crime. Can't tell you anything else, but there was a crime."

I read an article a year or two ago. It said that the thieves at Home Depot are a two man operation. One guy stands outside and robs your truck, while the guy inside follows you around on a cellphone and tells his buddy outside when you're about get back to your truck. This is just one of the organized ways that I know of. The thing that gets me is that if people are this smart to rob you, imagine if they applied themselves to being productive in the workforce how far they'd go.

Knock on wood, I have never been robbed at the Depot. But I did have over $700.00 worth of tools stolen out of my truck by a drug addict up the street from my house.

I avoid HD like the plaque, high prices, no service etc. Sometimes I am forced to run in for something because it's late or the supply house is 40 miles away from where I'm at. I got the Viper alarm and the Club. I also circle till I can park CLOSE. Been lucky so far.
One thing I do is sometimes at night I'll think of something I forgot for an early AM job. Then I go to HD in my Jeep and leave the truck at home.
Good tip about the cellphone, I'll be on the watch for that. Here in Arizona we are among the highest in auto theft.

I took out the forward left side shelf unit supplied with my chevy 3500 van. I then bolted in the big greenlee box I got with my Super Tugger kit, using carriage bolts with the bolt head side below decks and the nuts in the bottom of the box. They will need to steal the whole van, and then go steal a cutting torch to get to my goodies, but I would not put any of that past them either.

Electric Fence Machine rigged up to the alarm via a relay?
Anyone remember the South African news item about cars fitted with propane Flame Throwers at ankle height to deter car-jackers? Prise open door- WHHOOOOMMMPHHH!!!
As to the cameras, they only fit the sort of resolution quality that will read a number plate when they want to tax you for speeding.

Alan

Sorry to hear about the theft Jps1006. I'm not too far from you. Were they marked?...in case someone tries to sell me some used tools.

By the way everyone....Never buy used tools, this is where they come from.

Dave

I don't think that it matters if you have tools or not to get your vehicle broken into at a big box store.

I was at the Home Depot by my place about a year ago to pick up some screws, and came out to find out that somebody attempted to steal my personal vehicle.

It was partially my fault as I figured that I would be in and out and did not put my club on the steering wheel.

I don't know if they gave up or somebody scared them off but they did close the drivers door before they left. This HD did not have camers on the lot.

Sorry to hear it... check the pawn shops and any construction sites in the area for folks selling tolls "they don't need anymore" or "got from a buddy to pay a debt".

My tools ($2k worth) were supposedly being offered to the night shift at a local chemical distributor by the crackhead who stole them. Unfortunately, the call telling me about it came in from "UNKNOWN" at 10:00 pm, and I didn't pick it up.

They eventually caught the guy, but only after he graduated to kicking in garage door... and about 25 or so other resi burglaries from trucks and garages... including my carpenter buddy who had $8-10K worth taken from his Sprinter.

Dave, my 18v dewalt drill and sawzall had my phone number 630 area code on the tool, under the battery. If you find, please feel free to call.

I have been toying with idea of pitching this story to the press. Now, I realize they may not be interested because they can't really say "danger lurking in your local box store that may harm your children." But I have been really surprised at how many people this has happened to. They could take the angle of "big box store aware of epidemic, yet does little to prevent". I'd be interested to see some hard statistics to see if it would be legitimate to say it's about time they did something to protect their customers. Maybe show a map of repeat crimes that continue to happen over and over again, and if the data supports ask them, why don't you do something please?

I do know that the press has a way of sensationalizing a story so that by time the story is over we'd be left feeling that the profit-filled retailer does not care about its poor humble customers and would rather not go through the expense of making sure their premises is safe for their customer and their customer's property.

A thought just occurred to me. Do these places sell tools by any chance?........

Alan

Brilliant! a conspiracy angle. Nothing sells like a good conspiracy theory.

When you get robbed at the big box, do you report it to big box headquarters?
They might be interested in fixing it if they had an idea of the scope of the problem.
I can't imagine they really want to lose your business over a security problem ... but I could be wrong.

Most towns have found the best way to reduce crime rate, is to just not report it, makes you feel safe, and everyone in law inforcement look good.

Why would a newspaper print crime stats, when it may cost a large advertiser.

Sorry about your loss.

I don't know if you get down that far but I've heard bad things about the Home Depot at 95th and Cicero in Oak Lawn. I was there in the spring and the cops were investigating a vehicle break-in.

We are all victims of crime....every time we have a key made!

I, for one, will not give a market to a thief. No flea-markets. No buying from some guy in the parking lot. No E-Bay. No Pawn Shops. Sure, it may appear to cost more for me to go to a real store....but at least I KNOW it's not stolen.

As for prevention...well, try too look at things from the crooks' point of view. Something unusual and looking cruddy is far less attractive than something shiney and new. Much as I may love Snap-On tools....my tool box is more likely to have a "Harbor Freight" sticker on it!

The service academies have an honor code:
"I will not lie, cheat, or steal...nor tolerate anyone who does." There is wisdom in those words. When someone brags about the great price they got from some guy at the bar....shut him down; say simply "I don't buy stolen stuff." Keep an eye on the job site....crooks are famous for first stealing a hard hat, then wandering about, looking for opportunities.

Both the store, and your local government, need to know of your dissatisfaction in their response. File that report, write that letter. Paper often takes on a life of its' own. Yes, it can be difficult- I once had to insist, almost to the point of getting arrested myself, on filing a police report (The twinkie at the desk aparrently didn't feel like filling one out). But, without that paper trail, everyone can claim ignorance.

"My truck had no alarm and no suppimental locks."

I really do hate saying it... For the cost of buying new tools, you can get an alarm with GPS, auto locking doors on timers, (In case you forget, even install them inside the tool box...) and pager/cell phone notification, so you can go beat the day-lites out of them too while they are in the act...

I got all but the cell notification the last time I got robbed a few years back. (Still can get it... I should...) My alarm is a little sensitive and chirps a small warning if a large truck goes by, irritates the nieghbors. I had a conversation with one, and said that I don't care if it my alarm going off, or yours, I'll go out there naked if need be, cause nothing is getting stolen on our street while I live here. If I here mine warning, I look... A few months later, I heard mine, looked out the window, and found someone looking in his car... Cops came, and snagged them. Now the nieghbors don't mind if the alarm chirps....

Anyway, I am truley sorry for your loss. This is a conversation that unfortunately happens all too often on this forum.

Some more advice though... Engrave mark or brand your tools of any value with name, number, etc. A few of mine even have some extra stuff... "I find you, I kill you", "The person selling this tool to you is a thief.", "If found, or offered for sale contact Mark Heller..." Oh, the fun you can have with an engraver, or punch letters. Some of my older tools are branded with a hot dog-tag.

I got the company to get some of these for thier stuff... (Not from this company but as an example...) http://www.camcod.com/asset/asset-tags.asp?source=adwords

They are epoxied on, and really hard to get off. I put three on a band saw, good luck getting all of them off....