[walrus01]

This is not even a US specific issue. Vancouver, BC has a serious problem with (heroin, meth, cocaine) addicts and property crime. Theft from vehicles and from vehicles in supposedly "secure" underground parking garages is epidemic. No bicycle worth more than 50 dollars is safe locked in public, no matter what kind of lock it has on it.

[lb1lf]

-Anecdotal, but indicates there's a certain honour among thieves - if you volunteer to visit inmates in Norwegian prisons, you get a parking pass to keep prison staff from having your car towed or bike removed while you're visiting.

An inmate advised me that I should just leave that pass on the windshield at all times - as it would be more effective against theft than any immobiliser.

I did leave it in place, and a few months later, just about every car parked curbside down my street had had its stereo and valuables snatched - except mine.

Now, obviously, this may have been a result of my stereo being pretty basic, though of recent manufacture from a renowned brand - but I like to think it was because of the visitor's service pass.

[grapehut]

Vancouver is probably even worse. Not only is crime rampant, out of misguided compassion for drug users they have for all intents and purposes decriminalized petty crime in a sizable section (DTES) of the city. Police will quite literally not even arrest repeat "frequent flyers" even when seen seen prying into buildings and security gates.