Idaho Falls Burglaries Increasing… Is it the gas prices?

I was in a Maverick last week and the woman behind the counter was telling me about the rash of “pump and runs” they’ve had lately. People filling up their vehicles with fuel and taking off without paying for it. I told her they should have camera’s installed and she said they do, but there’s this one pump on the far outside where the camera doesn’t get a very good view and people must know this, as it’s the one the always used for this crime. But even if there are camera’s, many of these theives have been using stolen license plates, so it’s next to impossible to catch them anyways.

That was one thing I noticed when I first moved up here a couple years ago, was the amount of gas stations that still let you pump your gas and then pay for it when you’re done.. I hadn’t seen that many many years until I moved up here. And there really aren’t that many gas stations that have cameras set up to monitor their pumps.
I have noticed however that since the price started really shooting up the beginning of the year, that most places now make you pay before you pump, so hopefully that’s helping to cut down on this problem.

I don’t however see this problem going away anytime soon. A lot of people in this town live paycheck to paycheck, and with the price of fuel and groceries at an all time high, we’re bound to see this trend continue.

I wouldn’t go that far. Their a business like any other just looking to make a living. That doesn’t mean they “deserve” to get ripped off. It’s just that smaller towns like this never had as many “big city problems” like they do today. I think it’s a nicety that is fading fast and it’s ashame that it’s come to this.
I’m used to either pre-paying or using my debit card anyways, so it didn’t bother me. They should make an example out of these people when they catch them.

Re: Comment #4 “I wonder what could be done to get back to the “good old days”.”

Time travel, to a parallel universe. We have the technology. It involves a hollow metallic sphere, a 100′ slinky, electromagnets, and a large potato.

Increases in thefts seem to hit around major holidays, as well, so any time there is a heavier demand on already stretched tight paychecks you seem to hear more about them (the thefts.) I disagree that stations without prepay deserve to be “ripped off.” It’s a simple matter of choosing to patronize another fuel service provider. How a business decides to conduct their business is up to them. Whether or not you patronize them is your business. But why commit a crime over it?

Good point good humor man! (errr woman!)
I can’t say that I’ve ever lived in a town with less than 1000 people, nor would I want to in whereas everyone would know ones business. But in a perfect world, it would be nice to be able to leave your doors unlocked etc etc. but times they do a change and we can either learn to adapt to the times, or move to a secluded cabin in Montana somewhere. I can see how Idaho Falls would be considered a “big city” for those people that have lived in 1000 pop. sized towns, but for those of us that have actually lived in a “big city”, Idaho Falls is not considered to be one, although we find that it’s a great place to live and realitively crime free comparatively speaking.
My brother lived for a few years in a small town called Oberlin Kansas and I believe it had less than 1000 people. (although I’m not sure what the population is these days) My point is, I went to visit him one summer back in the late 80’s and when I got there, everyone was in an uproar that evening in the diner we went to. Evidently someone had broken into a number of stores along main street the night before and stolen some expensive items. So while crime may not happen as much in many smaller towns, no city is immune from a theft or other crimes from time to time. It’s been happening for thousands of years and personally I think we should never let our gaurd down.

In my opinion, things aren’t “just now coming to the point where people can’t be trusted”. People are human and the fact is, not everyone is trustworthy I don’t care where you live or what period in time you were raised. Crime happens everywhere and always has, from your quiet Amish towns in Pennsylvania to good ole Idaho Falls.

I think find humor said it best in that crime often happens more around holidays. But I also think that it’s always happened, its just reported about more in this day and age. i’m sure they had their share of crime back in the 30’s and 40’s when many of our parents grew up. But the fact is, they didn’t have a news crew on every corner to report about it either so you didn’t hear about it as much as you do today.

Good topic though, thanks Open mind.

Hi Guest 006.5…….the Artist Formerly Known as…oh, never mind……..

I think soon we will all be using giant magnets and hand-spun wheels to power our cars……..so the gas issue will be moot.

how about “shaken not stirred”??? saw a joke about that in the chatbox the other day, involving a frog eaten by a dog but emerged alive…….

Amen to that 006.5, er um…007.5 And cash please, no credit cards or prizes accepted. Well, unless it’s a really good prize. lol

Now that’s good comedy folks!

I thought it was a pretty good comment for first thing in the morning! (especially being at 006.5’s expense) lol

Wait until there are food shortages related to gasoline prices. I think home invasions will become a common thing to expect. I am sure John at ski’s gun shop can help you prepare for that. In the eastern united states home invasion crimes happen way to often. The economy and job market have alot to do with crime. When people get hungry poor and desperate they will do anything to feed thier families. I think the gas crisis is going to get way worse than it is now. Truckers wont be able to bring goods across the united states to stores and Trains will be used to save money. The only problem with trains is they do not drive upto the store and drop off the goods. Truckers still have to come and pick up the supplies and get them to the stores. Would you want to work as a trucker if your only making 6.00 an hour after fuel cost hit the pocket book? Crime is going to double and riots will be in almost every state across the nation. The government will respond with national guard like they did in the rodney king riots in CA. I see a grim future for America if something isnt done soon to offer everyone a cheaper form of trasportation. We have a very hungry Nation and millions of people who need to eat and get to work so they can support thier family. I know I would do what ever it takes to keep my kids alive. imagin a country frozen from transportation and food cost real high and rent to high for people to pay. What would you do to survive? The best method is to prepare for the worse. Stock up on canned goods and dried foods and water. Make sure to have several bikes or even a horse. So you can get around. Guns are very important to have also. Because people will litteraly break in and kill you to get everything you saved up for this period of shortages. Then to top all of this off people start welding small wind turbine devices together and using them for power or other methods because city power cost as much as gas. I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO SAVE UP ENOUGH FOOD TO SURVIVE!!! Do not count on our government to help you all like Katrina victims did. The government is a slow helper and never gets there in time. Lets all come up with a fail safe plan to survive. I can write up a good one and call it ” survival of the smartest ” lol no seriously we all should pitch in a few things and come up with a good plan that anyone can follow.

good points, artiste (:)

I read somewhere that China is actually leasing U.S. offshore drilling sites and taking the oil obtained back to China……anyone know if this is true????

Quest, you could check in with the survivalist groups, they have that same attitude (only they apply it to any crisis imaginable) of being prepared for any type of emergency.

Some local churches also have food storage as a common practice, for emergency situations.

But I agree with the others, I’m not seeing us at this level of crisis with this situation.

we arent at that high of a level but some experts have been mentioning it on the national geographic channel as being in the near future. Thanks for the tips with survival groups that would be a good idea to ask some of the survival experts at ISU what everyone should have on a list to get started. thanks so much for the good input.

is ski’s still in business?