Stolen equipment @ Sweetsilence studios Denmark Flemming Rasmussen

[juicylime]

Originally Posted by Fleaman

I always ask to see an I.D. and make the seller sign a bill of sale that states the items being sold are not stolen and have no liens on them--when they don't have receipts (who's gonna have a receipt for a 35 year old Neve module that was taken out of a 80 series?).

For used stuff online I tend to stick to ebay and I take the feedback and especially how long seller has been an ebay member into account.

That being said, if I had done all of that and still received gear that ended up stolen, how would I be dealt with if I was in Ireland?

The crima is in knowingly receiving stolen gear. If you didn't know it was stolen then it's just taken off you and returned to the original owner. I think.

[Colonel Blues]

Originally Posted by juicylime

I'm not sure about elsewhere, but here in Ireland receiving can carry a stiffer sentence than stealing. By buying stolen gear you are creating a demand for thieves to fill.

Same here in France, you expose yourself to law punishment if you have stolen gear in your possession, even if you bought it !

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by juicylime

The crima is in knowingly receiving stolen gear. If you didn't know it was stolen then it's just taken off you and returned to the original owner. I think.

Ok, it's exactly the same here in the U.S.

[Showcase]

Originally Posted by Colonel Blues

Same here in France, you expose yourself to law punishment if you have stolen gear in your possession, even if you bought it !

Same in Sweden since a couple of years ago! Before, you could buy pretty much anything in "Good faith" and law couldnt do nothing!
But now, you could even get busted buying stuff to cheap aswell, for example a widow that doesnt know the value of a working SSL console her husband had, and you make a bid of let say a 1000 dollar to her and she accept, you will not be able to keep it if she finds out the real value afterwards and call the cops

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by Showcase

But now, you could even get busted buying stuff to cheap aswell, for example a widow that doesnt know the value of a working SSL console her husband had, and you make a bid of let say a 1000 dollar to her and she accept, you will not be able to keep it if she finds out the real value afterwards and call the cops

Wow, that's crazy. I can imagine how that would be abused. You sell your used SSL for $30k, but then find out someone else sold the same model/condition for $40k, so what do you do? You call the cops!

Is there some % point from market value that this 'law' kicks in? How do they determine what is 'too cheap'??

[spokes58]

Originally Posted by Lagerfeldt

There's a string of rather professional studio burglaries in Copenhagen at the moment.

8 studios and a gear dealer have been burglarized in the last couple of months. The interesting thing is that even cables are being stolen - and since Denmark is a fairly small country my guess is that it's a foreign job, most likely from Eastern Europe.

Probably the former East German zone as that´s the closest. What a horrible thing! I lived in Copenhagen for almost 4 years back in the mid 80s, working as a touring musician and in a studio. The most common theft in those days was your bicycle. Man how things have changed since then. It sucks!

[razorboy]

It would help not to think of the equipment as stolen, but merely shared.

[deft_bonz]

Originally Posted by razorboy

It would help not to think of the equipment as stolen, but merely shared.

ROFL

What a pitty I can't "share" a Elam251 from some servers

[juicylime]

Originally Posted by spokes58

Probably the former East German zone as that´s the closest. What a horrible thing! I lived in Copenhagen for almost 4 years back in the mid 80s, working as a touring musician and in a studio. The most common theft in those days was your bicycle. Man how things have changed since then. It sucks!

I lived the for 5 years in the 90's. They're stealing bikes like they are common property!

[Matt R]

Hey all, as promised I've started work on the serial number tracking system. I haven't built it a public website, but I've been working on the portal that users will utilize to manage their serial numbers. I'll make another more in-depth post about it once I'm a bit further along.

For now, I'm going to run the service as a FREE service during beta testing, until I feel it's strong enough to start charging for. When I start charging, the base system will be $5/month. I'll be introducing inventory tracking as well in a little while if the demand is there for another $10/month. Knowing where your gear is at all times, who has it, and knowing people can easily check if it's stolen is something that I would hope becomes standard.

Accounts registered just to be able to run serial numbers will remain free. You can't store serial numbers or track inventory with free accounts.

Anyone can register for an account at the following URL: Account Registration :: Gear Aware

A Few important notes --

1) There is NO SSL CERTIFICATE on the website yet. You can register and use it all you want, but don't use a 'secure' password that you normally would until I drop an SSL certificate into place. Why? Without an SSL Cert, the data is transmitted in plain text. I don't want to be responsible for your frequently-used password being stolen :P

2) CSV Importing doesn't work yet. It will shortly.

3) I haven't built a very in-depth list of manufacturers yet, but as you add new rows, you can add manufacturers yourself. They only apply to your account. I'll go through the list of what's added in and make more permanent lists for convenience.

If you have any feature requests, let me know. When I wake up I'll type up the more permanent thread and post it up. I just want to get people testing this system to make sure it works so far.

What doesn't yet work:

1) CSV Importing
2) Entry modification
3) Entry deletion

When the main website is launched, the system for checking if a serial number is associated with a stolen piece of gear will be activated as well.

[erikdrink]

Smart system man!

[Matt R]

Device removal now operates accordingly. Updating a device's status should be done when I wake up.

The system is now able to be fully utilized for testing in a reliable manner.

[Showcase]

Originally Posted by Fleaman

Wow, that's crazy. I can imagine how that would be abused. You sell your used SSL for $30k, but then find out someone else sold the same model/condition for $40k, so what do you do? You call the cops!

Is there some % point from market value that this 'law' kicks in? How do they determine what is 'too cheap'??

I guess there has to be some insane price difference, like I said 1000 dollar for a large SSL console!
Last time I saw this going up in court, it was for a Harley Davidsson motorcycle, bought in pieces for aprox 1000 dollars of a widow, they had to return it back!

[TexaCali]

Wow. My condolences to Flemming and I hope the scumbags are caught and the equipment safely returned.

I recently had a minor theft incident that got me concerned about security. Here is what I did:

1. Make doors hard to kick in. Most doors (particularly US residences) can be easily kicked in by an average person. There are some very simple ways to reinforce the jambs with steel plates and long screws that attach to the studs (don't forget the hinges) so that you will have to break the door apart to get in. Remember, the longer it takes, the higher the risk of getting caught, so the more likely they will move on.

2. Use good locks. Google "lock bumping" for some scary tutorials on how easily almost any lock can be picked. There are some very good locks that are almost impossible to "bump" - but expect to pay over $100 USD for a bump resistant dead bolt.

3. Get an alarm that is monitored. The idea is to make it nearly impossible to enter without tripping the alarm (door and window sensors, glass breakage sensors, motion sensors, etc), and that someone will respond (police, private security company, etc) if the alarm trips. This only gives the criminals a limited window once they enter. If they are good, they will be in and out in a few min, figuring 5min is prob the fastest they might see a response. And given they only have a few min, they (hopefully) won't have time to take very much.

4. Make it hard for them once they are in. My valuable guitars and mics are kept in a interior room with it's own solid locking door. This door was upgraded the same as my exterior door - made resistant to kick in, and "bump resistant" locks installed. Sure you could get through it, but without serious power tools, it will take you longer than a few min to get through, and by that time you will be having a nice conversation with a clean cut young man wearing a neat uniform and a side arm.

5. Install cameras that are triggered by the alarm or by motion.

Regarding alarm systems, there is a company called alarm.com that has developed a very cool web based alarm/video monitoring/house lighting control system. They sell their system to alarm companies, so you can't buy directly from them, but they have lots of re-sellers (their website claims over 2,000). This is what I used for my system (via one of their re-sellers - frontpointsecurity). I've had the system for about a month now, and absolutely love it! I have no affiliation with any of these companies (other than being a customer).

I realize no security system is a magic shield, but the steps I have taken (partially outlined above) have greatly reduced my anxiety. Your mileage my vary.

[xlon]

fukken theives,
but they won´t have a chance selling them here in the north without getting caught.

[Sunshy]

Sad to hear :( I often wonder how thieves are able to take so much. It seems like they took the entire studio (even cabling!). How are they able to do this? Do they back a truck up?

Another security tip: use security rack screws for all your rack gear so they are not able to be removed with a regular screw driver.

[Lex A]

That's such a shame you work so hard...setting everything p and BOOM gone in a flash. The thieves obviously have been inside the studio before.

[outUVphaze]

G@d Damn thieves!

Shame.

Whenever I see stuff like this it really fries my bacon.

[outUVphaze]

Another suggestion;

Get a safe rated at least Tl-30.
High enough to house all of your mics.
At least your vintage stuff is protected.

Tl-30 means that it takes them at least 30 minutes to get through the material with all known methods.

Tl15 has less steel. ergo 15 minutes to break through via torch and slegehammer and drill.

Get a safe that seals itself when someone tries to tamper with the tumblers via a drill. All the pins pop and the safe cannot be opened at this point and must be broken.

It's worth the $3000-$4000 to protect your microphones. If you've got vintage no insurance company can replace that.

I have known people to take this route.

The other option are pepper spray bombs at all entry points. Even in wet suits they cannot avoid it. Try breathing with that stuff all around you in a cloud of cayenne. You're on all fours pretty fast doing th dry heaves.

Legally in North America you have to have a sign that says that the site is protected by pepper spray bombs, otherwise the thieves could sue you!!!
(apparently thieves have rights)

I am not certain about every state but I know that here you have to warn them.

Guys will get past grills, security locks, alarms (which are a joke), but the pepper spray bombs and I do mean bombs are another story.

Look them up online and you'll see that it is worth it for a professional installation.

Good luck to all.

G@d damn it this sh@t pisses me off!

John

[scattamah]

Originally Posted by outUVphaze

Another suggestion;<snip>
The other option are pepper spray bombs at all entry points. Even in wet suits they cannot avoid it. Try breathing with that stuff all around you in a cloud of cayenne. You're on all fours pretty fast doing th dry heaves.
<snip>John

I'll add to that - when the perp enters the room...self closing/bolting door + 120dB sirens + strobe lights + smoke.

Sensory beatings/disorientation at all levels and they'll be crying once you get to them.

I know a bloke who used to have this on his computer store...worked well.

Greetz

S

[Sunshy]

Just bought a large/heavy gun safe to house my mics and whatever else I can put in there. It will be bolted to the floor to make it more difficult to pry open. Will feel better about leaving the studio for extended periods of time!

[deft_bonz]

Originally Posted by Sunshy

Just bought a large/heavy gun safe to house my mics and whatever else I can put in there. It will be bolted to the floor to make it more difficult to pry open. Will feel better about leaving the studio for extended periods of time!

Cool... bolt the safe as deep as possible and use special glue, but hope to never have to move it afterwards

There are many easy ways to secure items, gears, etc. It's funny how many people don't consider any of them

[analog1]

Its really shame, as i leave and work in Norway i will check the local market.
I will give a ring to the police and to Flemming if i see something from the list here in Norway.
Those people are professionals, not amateurs thieves. Its the whole studio almost. Very very sad.
regards from Norway