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Sunday, January 29, 2006

Saturday Times: Steal this Camry

Over at the blog Franklin Avenue, Michael points to some inopportune inside info found yesterday in the LATimes, in a story by Cynthia Cho about stealing cars mid-Wilshire:
Their secret? Los Angeles Police Det. Frank Carrillo said they used "shaved keys" — plain car keys, which can be bought at a hardware store or junkyard, that are filed down — to pick door and ignition locks.

"If you shave the girth of a key, most often it will unlock a car," Carrillo said. When Contreras and Gonzales were arrested this week, they possessed more than 20 shaved keys, he said.

Here's a link directly to the Times story.
I'll bet the Mayor's glad he didn't go for a Camry.

As an aside here, I remember working for the City's libraries a few decades ago and there being nice debates about some branches ordering new books with titles like "How to Pick a Lock." It always seemed to Central like the branches in everyone's favorite Council District were the first to request these books...

But never mind that---please---back to the instant matter. Was this a good journalism practice, or no? Does the public's right to know what cars are easy to pick with shaved keys override the info spilled here? Should we make Ms. Cho an Honorary MayorSam Dum-Dum? I'll see ya in comments.

3 Comments:

Blogger davescholnick said:

Well I sure hope the car thieves don't read blogs, then. Mayor Sam and Franklin Avenue are just as responsible for proliferating this dangerous information. I'm sure the these bloggers would defend their own right to freedom of the press as vigorously as the LA Times and its reporters.

Sure there's a question of ethics and responsibility here, but the bloggers seem to hold Cynthia Cho to a different standard than their own.

January 29, 2006 11:26 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Rick Orlov's Tip Off
During an interview on "Washington Journal," Villaraigosa was upbraided by an anonymous caller from Arkansas.

Identifying herself as a former resident of the San Fernando Valley, the caller went after Villaraigosa on the problem of illegal aliens, turning it into a personal attack when she said, "It's only after the influx of illegals that you were elected."

January 30, 2006 6:31 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Grand theft auto isn't exactly brain surgery. Car thieves and their proteges don't need articles like this to prompt them. If they want your car, they can get it any time they want. That's why you guys pay such a high price for insurance.

January 30, 2006 8:24 PM  

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