Is dog-napping the latest craze/moral panic?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Red bricks were a thing too. We had an estate covered in them, so we'd nick them and sell them for chocolate money.

You traded them for chocolate coins? You must have been young otherwise it would have been fags & beer money in your teens

[WiredIncorrectly]

You traded them for chocolate coins? You must have been young otherwise it would have been fags & beer money in your teens

I don't word things very well do I lmao. At that age I hadn't started smoking. I was just getting into the Adrian Mole books at the time. My uncle was like a del boy so he'd give us pennies for them. He probably made a fortune in return.

The area is still covered in red brick. There's probably easier ways to make money these days.

[Lencoboy]

Manhole covers. Stolen and sold back to the same council. Maybe that bloke on the moped with the pizza boxes is really a manhole cover dealer?

How about lead off church roofs for your list?

Yes, I remember there being panic stations over metal thefts back in the mid-late 2000s, be it manhole covers, lead on roofs of churches, schools, stealing cabling from railways, etc.

Those metal theft crazes had mostly died down by the mid-2010s.

We don't seem to hear so much about phone thefts/robberies these days either, which were also a big thing back in the 2000s and the very early 2010s.

I think sometimes the media overdo it with these panic situations which can in turn become something of a vicious circle, the more people get scared by the often sensationalist media reporting on such issues, the more compelled the low-lifes of this world feel to indulge in their criminal pursuits, and so on.

I think that's also happened with the knife crime epidemic over recent years.

[WiredIncorrectly]

The metal theft crazes are still a thing. I know it happens with the cat. converters still. The smarter criminals are taking cars and stripping them, flying the parts out where I assume there sold by a different "gang". The more expensive the car, the more money they make. This is why you hear about a lot of home invasions for the car keys.

[Lencoboy]

The metal theft crazes are still a thing. I know it happens with the cat. converters still. The smarter criminals are taking cars and stripping them, flying the parts out where I assume there sold by a different "gang". The more expensive the car, the more money they make. This is why you hear about a lot of home invasions for the car keys.

I wonder if it they will be graduating to the audio systems next, if only for stripping for parts?

Also, is happy slapping still a thing these days?

[MyNameIsTerry]

You rarely hear of happy slapping. Just like how homeless fights have gone out of the media eye.

Cheaper cars get targeting too for parts as they are easier to steal.

What about schools getting smashed up or set on fire? Don't here much of that now either.

[Fishmanpa]

But with a $500K reward, I have a feeling they'll be found. Money surpasses loyalty in most cases.

Yep... just as I thought.... The dogs were returned. Someone is $500K richer!

Positive thoughts

[Lencoboy]

You rarely hear of happy slapping. Just like how homeless fights have gone out of the media eye.

Cheaper cars get targeting too for parts as they are easier to steal.

What about schools getting smashed up or set on fire? Don't here much of that now either.

You're right, schools being smashed up and/or set on fire hardly ever seems to get talked about nowadays. It was quite commonplace in my area back in the 90s and early 2000s, but (touch wood) virtually unheard of these days.

Having said that, I don't think CCTV systems in schools started to become widespread until the latter half of the 2000s as many LEAs still seemed hesitant in investing in them, despite their being of much greater benefit in the long run, though unfortunately, many often don't tend to think ahead.

Ditto for mammoth pub fights, which were a common staple pre-2000s, again no longer mentioned to the extent that they once were, though obviously non-existent right now as all pubs still remain closed due to the lockdown.

[WiredIncorrectly]

I wonder if it they will be graduating to the audio systems next, if only for stripping for parts?

Also, is happy slapping still a thing these days?

No lol. I got happy slapped randomly a few times. That was a stupid phase kids went through. It hurts worse than a punch.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Who remembers standing outside the shop asking adults "Will go in the shop for me?" for cigarettes lol.

I don't see that too often either.