WEBVTT - Why Do Cars Have Alarms If We Ignore Them?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff luring bog Obam here. The author of today's episode,

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<v Speaker 1>Dave Rouse, has a buddy named Mark. Mark lives in

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<v Speaker 1>Chicago and loved his Honda Civic hatchback. Thieves loved it too. Apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>a late nineties Civic is worth far more than its

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<v Speaker 1>blue book value in parts alone. Multiple people have pulled

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<v Speaker 1>up next to him at stoplights and offered to buy

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<v Speaker 1>the hatchback on the spot. Maybe he should have taken

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<v Speaker 1>them up on the offer. The first time his Civic

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<v Speaker 1>was stolen, the cops quickly recovered it a few blocks away.

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<v Speaker 1>The second time, Mark wasn't so lucky. He went out

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<v Speaker 1>to search for the car himself and found it about

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<v Speaker 1>a mile from his apartment under an overpass, stripped of

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<v Speaker 1>its engine and missing the entire front paneling. And now

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<v Speaker 1>Mark takes the train. Mark Civic didn't have a car

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<v Speaker 1>alarm because, like most of us, he assumed that alarms

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<v Speaker 1>were a waste of money if you live in a

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<v Speaker 1>big city. Falsely triggered car alarms as common as pigeons

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<v Speaker 1>and just as annoying. A blairing car alarm in Chicago

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<v Speaker 1>barely raises an eyebrow. There's even a name for it,

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<v Speaker 1>alarm fatigue. But does our collective disdain for car alarms

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<v Speaker 1>mean that they aren't effective. We spoke with Chris mcgowey,

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<v Speaker 1>a security consultant of thirty three years and host of

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast Crime School. He admits that we all have

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<v Speaker 1>alarm fatigue to some degree, but thinks that alarms still

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<v Speaker 1>have their place. He said, car thieves will tell you

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<v Speaker 1>they don't like the noise, they don't like the attention

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<v Speaker 1>that it draws, but it depends on the quality of

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<v Speaker 1>the car thief. If it's just an amateur car thief,

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<v Speaker 1>the alarm goes off, they're gone to that extent they work.

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<v Speaker 1>Professional car thieves, on the other hand, don't even worry

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<v Speaker 1>about alarms. McGoey says. The pros can either disable the

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<v Speaker 1>alarm quickly or use a number of tactics, including dummy

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<v Speaker 1>sets of keys and tow trucks, to circumvent the alarm

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<v Speaker 1>system altogether. According to INTERPOL, the international law enforcement organization

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<v Speaker 1>CARTIFF worldwide can be divided into two distinct categories. Widely

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<v Speaker 1>available older cars that's quantity and higher end, and luxury

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<v Speaker 1>cars that's quality marks Civic fits squarely in the quantity category,

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<v Speaker 1>the type of car that's irresistible to young street level

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<v Speaker 1>car thieves. Parts for older, widely available cars are in

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<v Speaker 1>high demand. Plus, most cars built before the year two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand can still be hot wired. McGoey said, the old

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<v Speaker 1>cars are a piece of cake. In modern cars, all

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<v Speaker 1>the keys have a chip built into them. That chip

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<v Speaker 1>has to be married up to the ignition. You can't

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<v Speaker 1>go in there and break off the steering wheel column

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<v Speaker 1>like you would in the old days, the car won't start.

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<v Speaker 1>If low level car thieves are more likely to be

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<v Speaker 1>spooked by car alarms, then it's worth figuring out if

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<v Speaker 1>your car is attractive to low level car thieves. First

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<v Speaker 1>check if your car is one of the ten most

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<v Speaker 1>stolen in America, that's a sure sign you're in the

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<v Speaker 1>quantity category. According to low Jack Vehicle Theft Recovery Report,

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<v Speaker 1>the most stolen mixing models are the Honda Civic and Accord,

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<v Speaker 1>the Toyota Camra and Corolla, the Chevy Tahoe and Silverado,

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<v Speaker 1>the Nissan Altima, the Cadillac Escalade, Ford F to fifty,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Acura Integra. Again, older model years are the

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<v Speaker 1>easiest to swipe and have the highest demand for parts.

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<v Speaker 1>Mcgoey's rule of thumb is quote, look at the most

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<v Speaker 1>popular cars today, they'll be the most stolen cars in

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<v Speaker 1>the country ten years from now. Another hugely important factor

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<v Speaker 1>is where you live. According to statistics from the FBI

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<v Speaker 1>and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, big cities routinely have

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<v Speaker 1>the highest total number of car thefts, but that's because

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<v Speaker 1>there are lots of cars in big cities. A more

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<v Speaker 1>useful statistic is car thefs per capita. In that category,

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<v Speaker 1>California is king. California is home to eight of the

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<v Speaker 1>ten metropolitan areas with the most car stolen per person.

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<v Speaker 1>In Los Angeles held the title for the most car

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<v Speaker 1>stolen nationwide fifty five hundred and fifty nine, but the

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<v Speaker 1>smaller Central Valley cities of Modesto, Bakersfield, and Salinas had

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<v Speaker 1>far greater theft rates per capita. Another perhaps unexpected capital

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<v Speaker 1>of car theft is Albuquerque, New Mexico, number two in

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<v Speaker 1>the country four stolen cars per resident. There might be

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<v Speaker 1>a simple explanation for this geographical clustering of theft rates.

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<v Speaker 1>According to a report from the Department of Justice, one

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<v Speaker 1>third of all cars stolen in the US were stolen

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<v Speaker 1>from four states, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. That's

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<v Speaker 1>because there's a lucrative trade in stolen cars and parts

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<v Speaker 1>directly into Mexico. Although the smuggling rings are operated by

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<v Speaker 1>large criminal organizations, the report concluded that the cars themselves

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<v Speaker 1>are mostly stolen by juveniles. So if you drive a

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<v Speaker 1>popular car that's more than decade old and you live

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<v Speaker 1>within a few hours drive of the border, it's probably

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<v Speaker 1>worth investing in a highly visible alarm system. The flashy

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<v Speaker 1>decals alone might be enough to to her thiefs scanning

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<v Speaker 1>the aisles and the mall parking lot, but if a

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<v Speaker 1>car alarm does go off near you, you shouldn't go

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<v Speaker 1>investigate unless your law enforcement or security personnel. It's their

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<v Speaker 1>job to investigate alarms, not bystanders. Fortunately, a car owner

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't necessarily have to be an earshot to learn that

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<v Speaker 1>their car is being broken into, or at least approached.

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<v Speaker 1>Many companies latest security systems include instant notifications sent to

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<v Speaker 1>the owner's smartphone or keys. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clay. From One on

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<v Speaker 1>This and lots of Other topics is at how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,

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