Can anything be done at the scrapyard level? I mean, to prevent these people from receiving money for the stolen pipe?

Hey just wanted to give everyone a heads up... my car was broken into at the corner of 49th and Hazel Saturday night... There was NOTHING visable but I had the face plate to my stereo in the console... which was taken, along with a bunch of random worthless crap I had in there. A sharpie marker and a little maglite that I don't think worked and about two bucks in change. Glad it was worth smashing my window. Anyway, not sure how this could have been avoided or what lessons can be learned. Incidentally, I had "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac on the passengers seat... which of course was still there. Guess they weren't fans. Goodbye sharpie marker, you will be missed.

Anyone know what's going on? There are a bunch of cruisers on 49th, just south of Warrington...

welcome to phillyblog masterPO

Hey, thanks!

I've been in Philly for about a month now. I've moved here from Scranton, which is why I'm kind of over the "taking it personally" or "I feel violated" phase of having stuff stolen. Although I could have done without this welcome wagon. In Scranton I've had my car window smashed, apartment robbed twice, copper pipes cut from a house I was working on, a different jobsite vandalized, bike stolen etc. over the years. So this isn't just a West Philly thing, that's for sure.

What can be done about it is a different story... more police on the streets? Complain every time you see suspicious activity? Short of an all-out organized neighborhood watch out there on every corner every night, I really don't know. Keep valuables out of your car and reduce the deductable on glass damage I guess.

Police in Oakland, CA, worked to set up an undercover operation to purchase scrap materials that are often stolen, including construction mats, cars, etc. Over an 8 month undercover operation they were able to take down quite a few repeat criminals. Couldn't philly do this too?

So I see these kids zipping down 49th on a pretty regular basis, not stopping at stopsigns, having near misses with cars, etc, and I was just wondering, do the cops ever pick them up and impound the bikes?
They're not street legal vehicles (no plates on the bikes, and ATV's definitely aren't), the kids on them don't look like they're of driving age, and they're a menace. I hate to think of the insurance nightmare one would go through you you impacted/were impacted by one of these kids...

Police can take these vehicles but there are a few problems. A lot of these kids won't stop and you have to chase them. If you go in vehicle pursuit for traffic violations, chances are the pursuit will be terminated within seconds. Another problem is if you chase them and they run stop sign and get killed or kill someone else, you are in big trouble and someone has lost there life over a ticket. That being said, cops hate these things as much as you do. If there is a specific area you want me to inform the officers about, let me know. I'll see what we can do.

Joe Murray

I see quite a few near 51st and Kingsessing. They also like to go into the grounds of the Kingsessing Recreation center and destroy the fields.

is that the one that borders 49th also? I go down there to play basketball and there are usually some kids doing donuts on atv's or dirtbikes just feet away from little kids playing on the playground.