[SteveFromNY]

I posted this once before somewhere - maybe could be useful here too....

http://www.buggiesunlimited.com/prod...V%20BU&cat=156

I guess it works like a car alarm, complete with a clicker. Maybe a good thing.

[Hyacinth Bucket]

I feel you can buy as many devices you like to protect your golf cart, bottom line is that if someone wants to steal it they will know how to deactivate the device or how to hot wire your cart to steal it.

I forget how many seconds it takes for thieves to start a car or strip it.

The police, whether it is a dedicated force or not, can not be everywhere at the same time. The thieves know that also.

It is just a sad commentary of our times - I do not know if there are any quiet safe villages left, yes some areas are safer than others.

We live in a small rural town that we thought was extremely safe - then reality hit. Yes, it was a shock for all of us, that this crime could happen here, but it did.

So if you see any suspicious activities call 911 or as suggested take a picture with your camera.

Once again IMHO.

Hyacinth Bucket

[gfmucci]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

Actually the Sheriff is not required to provide police patrols, they do it only as a supplemental service to the tax payers.* Many counties in the United State provide only jail services and process serving.

If the Marion County portion of The Villages represents only 3% of the entire county, then we will get only 3% of the sheriff's patrol (maybe less).* I don't think it is reasonable to think that the sheriff is going to increase anything inside the Villages.* We have to look out for ourselves, even if it means paying a "smidgen" extra for added safety.

The Villages has it's own Fire/Rescue department, yet we all pay taxes for Marion, Sumter and Lake County Fire/Rescue.* I haven't heard anybody squawk about it.* Is there a difference in the two discussions?

Fire districts generally have their own taxing districts.* I assume that is the case here.* On the other hand, to make the distinction, the Sheriff's office is county wide. Taxes from all Villagers are being paid for the county wide Sheriff's services.* If there is a burglary in unincorporated Marion County, will the Sheriff respond?* Or do they only provide "court services' out there?* My point is, despite what "some" jurisdictions do in other states, in this area, the sheriff's office is expected to provide full service law enforcement services in unincorporated areas - and we should expect that service here to a greater extent than the primarily rural areas of the county do - because we are NOT rural, although we are still a part of the County that pays taxes for Sheriffs services, and we contibute more revenue per acre than rural areas do.* This is an equity issue.

The sheriff only provides it as a "supplemental service"? - What, only out of the goodness of their hearts?* Becauses they have nothing else to do with their time?* It makes more sense that they have a particular mandate from some higher authority - perhaps the elected sheriff - or the County Commission.* I again assume the Sheriff is a constitutional officer, elected by the electorate of the county where he serves.

Does TV portion of Marion County represent only 3% of the population or 3% of the land area?* That can make a difference.* Whatever the percentage and degree of influence TV portion of Marion County represents, the percentage of population (and therefore the political influence) of TV portion of Sumter County is certain to be much greater.

My point is there are inequities.* We shouldn't just roll over, play dead, and accept them.* Those segments of TV that have a potential for significant influence on the political process to make a difference in the level of service the established sheriff's office provides in the TV portion of their County ought to make that effort before they give it up, accept minimal rural sheriff's services, and agree to spend hundreds more per year on contract policing services.

[SteveFromNY]

Originally Posted by Hyacinth Bucket

I feel you can buy as many devices you like to protect your golf cart, bottom line is that if someone wants to steal it they will know how to deactivate the device or how to hot wire your cart to steal it.

I forget how many seconds it takes for thieves to start a car or strip it.

The police, whether it is a dedicated force or not, can not be everywhere at the same time. The thieves know that also.

It is just a sad commentary of our times - I do not know if there are any quiet safe villages left, yes some areas are safer than others.

We live in a small rural town that we thought was extremely safe - then reality hit. Yes, it was a shock for all of us, that this crime could happen here, but it did.

So if you see any suspicious activities call 911 or as suggested take a picture with your camera.

Once again IMHO.

Hyacinth Bucket

So HB, using your logic, we should not bother to lock or alarm anything, as it will be stolen anyway.....

I really don't agree. By making it more challenging to take your stuff (be it car, cart, or home contents) I think you reduce the chances that you become a victim. I agree the "professional thief" will be able to get by any device placed in their way, and may even look at it as a challenge, a la Thomas Crown. But most thieves (most criminals) are really stupid people who take what they have a chance to easily grab. If your cart has an alarm and an ignition kill switch, I think it will be less likely to be driven off or put into a truck. They'll go for an easier target.

[cabo35]

The golf cart theft problem has reached disturbing proportions. It is clearly a trend that should have been addressed by local police authorities. Hopefully, I am underestimating them and they are working on the problem. In a previous post, I cited the complexities and possible remedies for the unique crime trends and policing complexities that are linked to the Villages multi-jurisdictional composition. The context involved the burglary issue but is also applicable to the cart theft problem.

Several factors that need to be considered include the overlapping of policing responsibilities between three counties and a municipality. A basis for establishing crime patterns and trends is the accumulation and archiving of criminal activity data. I don't know whether that is occurring on regional or jurisdictional basis, or, at all in the Villages. Such documentation, which is fairly easy to program with today's technology, would be a useful tool in identifying crime patterns, projecting crime hazard areas and deploying available resources that reduce the likelihood of crimes being committed.

An oversimplified theory of crime spells out three components that need to exist for crime to occur. They are motivation, opportunity and a belief that it will be successful.

As to motive, more than likely most crimes in the Villages are committed by transients from neighboring areas. The motives and remedies are largely social issues that the average Villager can do little about. The opportunity increases or decreases proportionate to the omnipresence created by conspicuous police patrols, good alarm systems, large dogs and good neighbors. The belief that a crime will be successful speaks to investigative efforts that lead to apprehension and conviction rates.

Are the law enforcement agencies, Sumter County Sheriff, Marion County Sheriff, Lake County Sheriff, and Lady Lake PD accumulating, sharing, analyzing and acting on crime data from the Villages?

Would a special joint Villages Task Force be a more effective approach to patrolling and responding to the crime patterns attributable to the demographics and unique circumstances of our community? Who has the political clout and contacts to bring this to the table?

A joint task force properly organized and directed could reduce or eliminate this problem in short order. A multifaceted joint effort that includes:

Investigation and intelligence gathering on a regional or statewide basis to determine the target market areas for stolen carts. This essentially means attacking the problem from the back end and working to the source or actual theft component. The use of police stings has been very effective in reducing other burglary and theft type crimes.

Concurrent with the above action, target areas, times and patterns should be identified by the collation of existing data. A combination of marked and undercover patrols, stakeouts in prime areas, the use of gps technology in "bait" vehicles to identify end destinations. The ever important alerting of the public to the scope of the problem and requesting public support by encouraging prevention remedies and the reporting of suspicious activity is vital to success.

A final facet would be to coordinate the application of political and/or media pressure on cart manufacturers to enhance anti-theft and cart identification potential. Local cart dealers could also get involved by adding these enhancements and marketing them accordingly.

This in not rocket science and if it not happening, we should be asking why it isn't. While I have read about some cart theft activity in the Daily Sun, nothing suggests the scale of the problem as represented on this board. I would really like to hear from our local law enforcement authorities on this issue.

[gfmucci]

* Cabo has the right approach.* Everything he suggests should be done through the cooperation and coordination of the existing policing authorities in the three counties and in Lady Lake.* I am certain that the charters for the respective jurisdictions and respective law enforcement agencies supports this.* It is a matter of the will and skill to follow through.* The will is encouraged through political pressure and reason.

Let's do what we can through existing agencies before we get serious about costly alternatives.* The last thing I want to happen is to give the existing agencies we already pay for an excuse for not doing their jobs, thinking "oh, those rich Village People (NOT) will pay a million or so bucks per year for extra cops.* We don't really need to do an effective job inside that place."

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by gfmucci

"oh, those rich Village People (NOT)

With every one of those 3 and 4 hundred thousand dollar ads that the Villages buys on national teleivision, they say, "live the lifestyle of a millionaire." What else would somebody think.

[villages07]

I sure would like to know what the factual, actual number of golf cart thefts in the past 6 months is. If it is 55, then, yikes, that is disturbing. But, so far, I've read in a web post that someone's friend (who had a cart stolen) was told by someone at sheriff's dept that 55 had been stolen. Is this a true figure or urban legend?

Mr Sun Reporter, if you're out there, help quell (or affirm) the rumors that are swirling.

Regardless, lots of good advice in this thread about how to protect yourself and be more aware of what you see out there.

[784caroline]

The Daily Sun reported in this mornings paper that a 3rd Golf Cart was reported stolen this month" (March) on monday and that this was the 9th golf cart reported missing to Lady lake police since the start of 2008. The most recent loss occurred in Spanish Springs behind "Church on the Square"

What is unclear from this story is do these loss stats reflect the the entire Village community ie Sumter County Sherrif ??

[gfmucci]

It may be informative to call the Sun Reporter and ask directly.

[renielarson]

One golf cart theft is one too many.

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Bright

HB

[junglejim]

We do have a lot of cameras around. Are they recording or just for show?

[Sidney Lanier]

Notwithstanding some good suggestions and possible long-term solutions, can anyone suggest, in practical and immediate terms, any kind of lock that can be used effectively to disable a golf cart and/or make it very difficult to be pushed up onto a trailer. Anything that can lock the steering wheel or a boot of some sort on one of the cart wheels or some other device?

[Hyacinth Bucket]

junglejim - good question. I do not know the answer, perhaps someone does.

HB