Flatbush Shomrim has contacted YWN, and asked us to publicize the following alert:
Over the last several months there has been numerous crimes happening over Shabbos in Flatbush Shul’s. These crimes include Pushkas being emptied out, cars taken for joy rides – using car keys that have been brought to Shul that are left there during shabbos, and other crimes. The only similarity in all these crimes, is that there are no signs of anyone attempting to break any doors to get into the Shul or cars. Flatbush Shomrim urges all Gabbayim of Shul’s to take the following precautions.
1. Please make sure that whoever is assigned to lock up the Shul needs to check all bathrooms to ensure that no one is hiding-out and waiting for all Mispallilim to leave. Additionally, please try doing this inspection with one other person since if you do find someone hiding – the chances are is that he is a drug user (and can be dangerous).
2. Car keys that are brought to Shul – to be left over Shabbos, should be well secured and hidden. The first places that a thief might look in, is a cubby, a Shtender, a Sefer sticking out of a shelf that looks like something maybe hidden behind it etc. Shomrim advises that the best thing to do would be to leave your cars at home, since most Shul’s don’t have secured places to keep objects safe.
In general, when parking your cars on Erev Shabbos, please take all valuables out of your vehicle – especially within eye vision – from a thief that maybe looking into cars. Statistics show that most car break-ins happen over Shabbos.
Finally, please make sure that your Shul has a working phone in case of emergency. Please also note the Flatbush Shomrim 24 hour hotline number: 718-338-9797.
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15 Responses
There are other hiding places for car keys besides a cubby or Shtender. A person could put his key inside a weekday TALLIS BAG. There are lots of Tallis bags. THEY ARE IN A RUSH SO THEY WILL NOT LOOK THRU ALL THE TALLIS BAGS.
אם השם לא ישמור עיר שוא שקד שומר
ךook over mezuzos
How would anyone but “insiders” know which keys belong to which car? It’s doubtful that perps are trying all the neighborhood cars to see which car matches the keys.
Sounds to me like it’s kids of Mispallelim.
#3,
You are 100% right, It is certainly the kid’s of the mispallelim.
Are you not well?!
If the keys are in shul, then the thief does not need to search the entire neighborhood. They only need to search within the immidiate vicinity of the shul!
Also, most cars made in the past 10-15 years have remote locks. Which will allow the theif to just “click” and see which car on the block’s light blink, and he has his car!
But you are just to “t’mimusdik” to figure that out, so just blame it on the kid’s of the mispallelim!
#3…they click the remote and watch for lights
#3 – what a chilling thought that is but you are probably right.
#3 – The guy takes the remote with the keys outside and presses it to see which car responds. The car is usually parked near the shul, within range of the remote. Not too hard. It happened in my shul.
I would like to respond to #1 & #3.
#1 states “They are in a rush, etc.”
If you hide Friday night in the bathroom until everyone leaves you have a good hour and a half before anyone comes back to shul to learn. During this time they can search thru every possible place where a key might be hidden.
And to #3 listen to #4 he hit it on the button.Two weeks ago 6 cars were stolen Friday night from a Sephardic shul on Avenue L and returned to different parking spaces that same night with some cars having severe damage. In other words they were taken for joy rides and then returned.
flatbush, the cream of our jewish community; and you are claiming that the children are committing the crimes!i dont believe it.the parents or adults of these communities are bnai torah and so are their children. i think as was suggested. their are individual young adults who are aware that car keys etc… are available in the shuls on shobbas and easy prey for stealing and having a good time. every shul should have their own shomrim committee to make sure all is safe; that is, lock up when rquired; make sure there are no fires; check the bathrooms;check the automatic clocks that they are functioning; make sure the safes for the sefry torah are not opened until necessary and when mispalilim are around;it would be advisable to put all money boxes away in a safe spot.make sure the kidushim if any are supervised with shmirra so that these crakpots dont have access to food.we live in tough times ,thus we need extra precautionary procedures to thwart the mischieve makers.
1-Remotes make noise. Do you think they want to attract attention?
2-Are you assuming that everybody that’s looking for a parking spot right before Shabbos, gets one right on the block of the Shul. Wishful thinking. Not on most blocks in Flatbush.
Hmmm.
I must add, I probably wouldn’t have thought that if not for the recent Lakewood burglary finding, fresh in my mind.
Another thought. How often do thieves just want a “joy ride” rather than stealing the vehicles? Perhaps I’m LESS Tmimusdik than y’all.
whoops ! I should have been “dan l’kav zchus”. I forgot the recent technology
#3 There is something called a remote control, that just opens up the car.
Respond to #10
1. Friday night after your fast asleep your neighbors alarm can sound, a fire engine can sit in front of your house with it’s siren blarring and you will not wake up for nothing. Now imagine a remote making a squeek. Your telling me you’ll jump out of bed thinking a person is stealing a car. “Fuggetaboutit”
2. A person driving a car to shul erev shabbos may not find a place to park on the block of his shul, YOUR RIGHT. But if you walk within one block or even two or three blocks even a blind person will find a car with a remote.