NSW Police criticised for opening unlocked cars as part of obscure law crackdown - Sensationalist Headlines

Police criticised for opening unlocked cars as part of obscure l.. New South Wales police have been opening cars and checking for valuables as part of a crackdown that invokes an obscure road rule that results in people being fined for forgetfulness. Yes, people in NSW can be fined $108 for leaving their car unlocked. The obscure road rule is rarely enforced, but police north of Wollongong have been reminding residents of it by checking car doors in suburban streets. "We have been seeing how many cars are unlocked and then seeing what valuables are inside," Detective Inspector Brad Ainsworth said. "Unfortunately it was pretty disappointing. We found 30 vehicles over a couple of nights unlocked and with property in them." Instead of fining the cars' owners, police have been knocking on the door of residences or placing a warning note on car windscreens. Wrong thing to do, civil liberties president says The patrol has angered NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Stephen Blanks. "I'm really concerned about police opening cars and having a look in and going through the contents," he said.

it would be one thing if they solely checked the car door and amicably told the owner about it but checking the contents is going too far

This is a special type of retardation.

>Yes, people in NSW can be fined $108 for leaving their car unlocked. I can see the reasoning behind this, I can imagine a lot of police resources and time is wasted because retards have their shit stolen because they couldn't be bothered or were too stupid to use such a simple feature that every car has, unless it's broken.

Instead of fining the cars' owners, police have been knocking on the door of residences or placing a warning note on car windscreens. Wait what So they find an unlocked car and then put a notice on the windscreen "Hey your car is unlocked, please don't do that -the police" I can see no ways in which this can possibly backfire.

lol at aus pol once again dressing up borderline criminal activity as looking out for the best interests of the community.

This doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

They could just leave it inside the car instead so would be thieves don't see it

I think I remember seeing a facebook post by some UK police department showing UK police doing a similar thing with people's homes, sans going through it. Can anyone confirm if this is a thing police do outside this one obscure instance, because this is fucking retarded. I'll leave my shit unlocked wherever I please you fucks. Not even the police can see the reasoning behind fining people since the article seems to mention that they're not actually handing out fines. You can't punish people for leaving their cars unlocked, that is beyond silly.

Something similar happened here too, many years ago. Police would check unlocked doors to backyards, and if unlocked, they would lay down some foot-shaped brochures with a warning about people being able to enter if the keep the doors unlocked. Though good natured, it was also illegal since police can't just enter your property without permission.

Meanwhile in my country, everyone locks their car because leaving it open is a surefire way to get it stolen by 27 robbers at once. Except in the south, where locking it is seen as a sign of mistrust so they steal it on principle.

Every time I see a news story from New South Wales, my mind briefly interprets NSW as NSFW and I get all confused.

This has happened in some places in the US as well, only difference is no one was fined for it, they just broke into some people's cars and left notes. It pissed off a lot of people and I don't believe they do it anymore, but I'm not sure. I can sort of understand why they do it, but it still seems pretty fucked up to break into someone's car just to remind them that an unlocked car can be broken into. Imagine if they walked around checking random people's houses while they're gone and inviting themselves in if it's unlocked to leave some creepy-ass note telling you to lock your doors while you're gone. Not only is it an invasion of privacy, it's also just plain fucking weird.

meh, as a one-time thing that hits the news this probably does a decent job at raising awareness. I doubt it's going to be a long term or large scale effort and while I agree that checking the contents is too far, it's not actually clear to what extent they actually did that: did they simply shine a flashlight over the interior and see what people had left out in the open? or did they actually dig in and rifle through the compartments and trunk? "It doesn't belong to them or the state … don't touch my things. If I forget to lock my car I'll be responsible if I have something stolen." this mentality is pretty simplistic though. the state will be affected when you file a police report on your stolen car or items, and everybody is affected if that theft goes on to facilitate further crime. same dude probably believes mandatory seat belts are stupid too because he doesn't consider the people who have to scrape him off the pavement

That's not only morally wrong to do but also illegal state side. Checking locks is not a justifable cause for search here.

I really don't see a problem with it, so long as they aren't posting a big "HEY, YOUR CAR IS UNLOCKED!" note on the window for everyone to see. Having worked closing and overnight retail before. We got a lot of customers coming in saying their cars had been broken into. Sure enough the doors where unlocked. There are people that go around busy shopping centers, mostly during the holiday and will go around and check car doors. Mostly older vehicles.

The reasoning is so that crims can't get an easy vehicle faster.

I wish I could rate this dumb twice.

Wow! I am really surprised that Ticket Inspectors haven't caught onto this law.

Reminds of a time at Algonquin College where police went through the parking lot and took people's possessions from any vehicles that were unlocked. They left a pamphlet about picking up their items at the police station. Thankfully my doors were locked and I learned about it from the vehicle next to me with a pamphlet under the windshield wiper.

This is a totally unwarranted thing to do, but for curiosity's sake; who the fuck doesn't lock their car doors? Why would you ever not do that?

I don't at home because I live on 30 acres, but that habit sometimes trickles over to when I visit friends and such. We usually just leave the keys in the car at home as well. A habit formed by no one being able to accidentally stumble upon our property.

I'm positive they would lock the door before shutting it. Given that they're telling owners and giving them warnings rather than writing tickets shows they're doing it not to get into your pockets, but because they genuinely are concerned about it. Why the push for it and why search for property though is beyond me

This might just be my ignorance but how would the police lock a car door

The lady on the end of my road never used to lock her car, never used to leave valuables in it. Her reason being that a thief would have a rummage, fail to find anything and then fuck off without doing any damage. She told me this when she was waiting outside her house for someone to come and repair the window that had been put through by a their.

I never lock my car door. I'd rather have people steal my broken radio or a few cigarettes then me having to pay for a new car window. Only thing stolen in a year was ±3 ciggies from a brand new pack.

I got my car broken into 3 times in college because I forgot to lock it, I was so poor they didn't even bother to take the change in my cupholder. this though would be pretty illegal in the US

So what if our door locks are gettin' on up there in years and are so stiff that they'll twist the head right off the key if they're used, hrm? 'Cause that's the situation with at least one of mine. On my '85 F150, the passenger side lock cylinder is legit frozen solid and the driver's side one is close enough that the force required to move it and the force required to twist the key apart is about the same. Ridiculous law. And it ain't like a locked car door is gonna stop thieves. San Francisco has a HUGE car burglary problem, with the crooks preying on tourists, and they don't even try the door handle. They just smash the window out.

uhh im p sure a smashed window is gonna raise some alarms over an unlocked door "was this car broken into? the door is unlocked" vs "oh the window is smashed, i fucking wonder what happened"

Any car made in the last 15 years can be locked with the push of a button. If they're checking to see if they're unlocked and finding that they are, they just hit the button in the door. Or push the lock down by hand in the one door. I don't think it's any of their business, though