It seems as if you can't own anything nice these days in Santa Monica. This past week the office building where the Daily Press is located was burglarized, the thief or thieves making off with a bicycle and bicycle tire. Both were locked in what was thought to be a secured garage, demonstrating that you can never take enough precautions to protect your property.
This week, Q-Line asked:
Have you ever been a victim in Santa Monica of a robbery or burglary? If so, what was stolen and where? Do you feel like you can leave your property locked up, but in public? Or is nothing safe?
Here are your responses:
"Yes. I'm an ex-landlord in this lovely town of San Malicious and years ago, somebody tried to steal my little sports car. But if I had not had a band on the steering wheel to secure it, it would've been taken. And years later, a woman tried to steal from my credit card. So I had to knock out the credit card and get another one. So no, I don't feel that one can be safe in this city or in this world."
"I personally have never been burglarized, but of course have family and friends who have been. Mostly car vandalism. You raise the question, ‘Is nothing safe anymore?' My answer: Not in Santa Monica. Look around you at the army of bums, lowlifes, drug addicts, crazies, and assorted ne'er-do-wells that now call Santa Monica home. And we are the prey and victims on all levels. When I was growing up in a small town on the east coast, these types would enter the town on one end preparing to set up their trades, but the police would have them out the other end of town before nightfall. Therefore, no crime. So sorry your building has now joined the victim ranks of these experienced, thieving, professional cruds."
"Whenever you have a group of people forming a society you will have those who are thieves. These malcontents feel others are responsible for their incorrect choices in life and that the benefits of society's labors should be free to them. I've had bicycles stolen from me in the past, I now try to be more careful in protecting what I have acquired from hard work. It's funny that the liberal press that's stolen so much truth from society is itself stolen from by the very ungrateful people it chooses to always defend."
"At Santa Monica Place, years ago, someone stole my bicycle. Fortunately I saw them by it, then ride off on it. Luckily, they came my direction, I barely had time to stop them — body slamming into them, knocking them down to the street. Thief got a concussion, but I got my bike back. My bike was worth more than the skull of a criminal."
"We live in an apartment building north of Wilshire Boulevard that has a three-level parking garage completely out of view from the street. Over the past five months we have had three incidents in which a number of cars each time were broken into and vandalized, including cars being keyed in the garage. For whatever reason, the police are not letting the general public know there is a significant car break-in problem north of Wilshire. It seems to be a persistent problem up here. I don't know why the Daily Press is giving scant attention to it, but it's very significant. Cumulatively over the three waves, the damage now totals $40,000, approximately. We have attempted to contact building and safety here in Santa Monica but code compliance tells us that the apartment building's parking levels are grandfathered and there's nothing that code compliance can do to enhance safety because the grandfathered rights of the landlord outweigh the risk to the well-being and safety of the tenants. We do want your readers to be aware of the fact there is a significant car break-in problem in Wilshire."
editor@www.smdp.com
