2 dozen Rolex's taken in 20 seconds in LA area smash and grab robbery

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WhatInThe

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Real life has surpassed Hollywood movie scripts. Smash and grab robbers get 2 dozen Rolex watches in 20 seconds worth 1/4 million dollars.

Nearly $250k worth of luxury watches stolen in smash-and-grab robbery at jeweler in Newport Beach

I think it was the movie Gone In 60 Seconds was about high end car thieves. California has created a task force to deal with these crimes but sadly smash and grab or flash mob robberies won't be disappearing any time soon.
 

Why would the store have buzzed them in. High end stores have controlled and limited entry and reinforced display cases now.
 
Jules said:
Why would the store have buzzed them in. High end stores have controlled and limited entry and reinforced display cases now.
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Looks like they let the guy with the T shirt and hat buzzed in first who apparently was part of the robbery and why he held the door open for robbers in the hoodies.
 

I want to be angry and indignant about this. But then I think of the obscenity of 24 watches being "worth" $250K, and I wain.

Of course it's wrong. But mix a watch store like this with needy folk.... yeah.
 
Jules said:
Why would the store have buzzed them in. High end stores have controlled and limited entry and reinforced display cases now.
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Birks Canada stores no longer have open doors at any of their stores. You have to make a telephone appointment, for the next day at a specific time and place. Armed plain clothes security officers check your ID through the glass doors, before they open up. Birks also has Lexan acrylic display cases, which you can't break with a hammer, even if you try for 10 minutes.

My point is simple. The store that was robbed was very lax about their physical security measures, and it shows. JimB.
 
The acrylics are great to protect against smashing but alot them don't offer the clarity and vision glass does. That case glass is probably shatter proof only ie will break into small pieces not sharp edges.

I get why stores don't mind or even want walk in business. Even millionaires buy on impulse. Maybe a powered door that can't be held open like in the above robbery or secure the watches with a thin cable-anything to cost the thief time even though they cut it.
 
VaughanJB said:
I want to be angry and indignant about this. But then I think of the obscenity of 24 watches being "worth" $250K, and I wain.

Of course it's wrong. But mix a watch store like this with needy folk.... yeah.
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It seems that these were not high end items, since this averages out to about $10k each, That's run of the mill, everyday stuff for a Rolex buyer. They are not my cup of tea, but I certainly don't consider the prices to be obscene.

Rolex prices
 
Don’t worry about it. The store has insurance. That will pay for the loss. I was told that by a very Woke person so it must be true.
 
Brookswood said:
Don’t worry about it. The store has insurance. That will pay for the loss. I was told that by a very Woke person so it must be true.
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I hear the insurance excuse for alot stolen items including cars. First it's shifting the responsibility for one's criminal act to someone else. The second using insurance isn't like hitting an easy button or without consequences in itself including higher premiums after.

But wether it's Rolexes, cars or candy bars the small business owner in particular work hard because selling stuff is their livelyhood. They say never mess with a person's tools well store inventory is a business owners tool to make money.
 
Smash & grab- not a new phenomenon:

Smash and grab raids became common in the 1930s, and were particularly prevalent in the 1940s, but decreased in frequency as shopkeepers took to strengthening their windows and/or fitting protective grilles. By the 1950s, forced entry to shops was being effected by using cars and grappling irons to pull window bars off windows, a precursor to the 1980s phenomenon of ram-raiding
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Some deterrents:
There are several approaches to deterring smash and grab raiders. Shopkeepers can securely tether their goods, and make the tethering obvious to the onlooker. They can also avoid displaying goods of value in windows, an approach that has the disadvantage of reducing the attractiveness of the display to customers. Additionally, shopkeepers can strengthen window glass, to the extent that it can withstand, without breaking, being hit by the implements that smash and grab raiders are likely to use, such as hammers, bricks, and scaffolding poles.[1]
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Not new but taken to another level including the flash mob smash and grabs. Along with frequency and brazeness. It's a criminal trend right now and probably includes a lot of amateur thieves and junkies which make them more dangerous.

I worked in some pretty bad areas in the 1980s and never saw that type of aggresive robbery/break in with people there. Yes after off hours you could frequently seen the signs of a completed or failed break in. And if they criminals thought no one was there or looking they probably broke in just as fast and aggressive as these thugs. I saw people so scared of crackheads they were putting stuff in front of backyard or alley fire exits and doors.
 

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