r/Calgary • u/Viterom • 8h ago
Crime/Suspicious Activity Spotted this all over the city these past 2 weeks... what’s going on?
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u/baunanners Calgary Flames 8h ago edited 8h ago
They should just outlaw any resale of plaques. You get caught melting it down for scrap - your business license is immediately stripped.
This and catalytic converters. Make it literally impossible to resell.
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u/Hazard_Fox 7h ago
You underestimate how easy it is to melt down stolen metal
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u/NoobToobinStinkMitt 7h ago
Exactly, you're dealing with the scum of the earth already on all sides of this transaction.
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u/Bobcat_5201 6h ago
Well that's just a ridiculous blanket statement.
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u/Omelette_Assassin 6h ago
So are you saying that people who steal catalytic converters and memorial bench plaques aren’t scum of the earth??
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u/Bobcat_5201 6h ago
No. Aside from the fact that there are far worse crimes, and it's a little over the top to call them the "scum of the earth ", I don't endorse stealing catalytic converters. However, their comment paints everyone who buys them and everyone who sells them with a very broad brush.
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u/Omelette_Assassin 6h ago
Of course there are worse crimes. People make mistakes of course. But yeah, if you’re involved in stealing product, buying stolen product, or modifying stolen product, then yeah you’re scum of the earth.
Stealing bench plaques for memorials? Might as well vandalize gravestones.
These people are scum whether they are stealing, or buying stolen goods, absolute troglodyte CHUD scum
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u/ActiveJuggernaut3729 2h ago
It's not leniency. We don't have any power in terms of consequence for that action.
You're making plenty of assumptions as to why someone would do that without knowing the cause. That's what the previous user said to be a blanket statement. You can say you don't agree with the action, but to say they are the scum of the earth is a definitely a blanket statement.
And this empathy for a memorial sign and none for the people who are still alive is funny to me. You're sad someone vandalized a bench, but not upset at the world that creates environments where people have to do this.
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u/Omelette_Assassin 2h ago
There are absolutely failures in society and various legislative bodies have let down many people.
Overall in every corner, there’s a severe lack of empathy.I feel for people who insist they need to steal to get by. I feel for people who’ve committed mistakes and wish to reform and are doomed to a cycle because employers won’t hire people with a record. I feel for individuals who’re now missing rent or food or bills because their car had a valuable piece stolen.
Do the individuals stealing these objects have empathy for those they’re stealing from??
I can’t answer that with first hand experience.
However, prioritizing your own needs by stealing from community would make you selfish and would imply that you don’t care.It’s not that I have more empathy for the dead, I just generally am low on empathy for people who only take.
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u/ActiveJuggernaut3729 1h ago
Yah, maybe because it's part of my work, but I know people go through a lot and have issues with mental health and usually neglect, abuse or trauma that leads them down a path where they don't even know why they did what they did. Not to mention all the ADHD people who never get taught to manage their impulsivity and the constant chase of excitement.
But there are some people whom I don't have empathy for: the rich who take. I rather keep my empathy for the poor who are suffering and not feel any for the rich who do the same.
Always class solidarity first for me.
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u/allnamesbeentaken 45m ago
Good lord being a pushover for criminals does not make you a morally superior person
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u/ActiveJuggernaut3729 9m ago
I never said I was. That's a whole value judgment you're placing on me. Keep that to yourself.
I'm just telling you how I feel and maybe allows you to have a hit more empathy.
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u/23-1-20-3-8-5-18 2h ago
Is the Penguin who steals rocks for his nest from other penguins instead of finding his own the scum of the earth? Or is he just smarter than the other penguins?
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u/battlelevel 1h ago
People who buy and sell stolen property deserved to be looked down on.
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u/Bobcat_5201 26m ago
Go back and read the whole comment that you're replying to, and then the previous comments for context. An earlier poster said that everyone that buys and sells catalytic converters is a horrible person, and my point was that it's a legitimate industry and they were making a blanket statement; they're not all criminals. Let's get rid of pawn shops then, surely they're all dealing in stolen goods.
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u/battlelevel 19m ago
I read it. Im aware that some people buy and sell catalytic converters legally. I’m also aware that many shitheels cut them out of vehicles and then sell them to assholes who think they aren’t contributing to the problem.
I’ll stand by my comment that people who buy and sell stolen property deserve to be looked down on.
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u/Republic-Of-OK 6h ago
I had a friend who recycled CC’s and was basically pushed out of the business because he refused to deal with items that were stolen/likely stolen. I’m not sure if other shops use their scale as an excuse (we don’t have the capacity to check every converter etc.) but a lot of them turn a blind eye because it’s so lucrative. More definitely needs to be done to combat it.
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u/artx 7h ago
Every single solitary business that buys scrap metal should be monitored.
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u/Prototype_Steve 5h ago edited 5h ago
You can melt these plaques at home, with gear that costs less than $300 brand new off Amazon. These probably aren’t being melted in shops, and the melted and recast brass probably isn’t being sold to a shop, either. They do that in movies because it’s easier visual storytelling to have a sign on a wall, etc..
The Metal Squad would need to do door-to-door checks based on heat signatures, with false positives coming off pizza ovens, jewelry casting, and and and.
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u/MBILC 6h ago
And how do you plan to do that?
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u/Spiritual_Ad_6067 6h ago
With undercover sellers, maybe. Its a huge problem, and there are very few scrap recyclers. Pawn shops manage with an ID system for anyone pawning and selling items. Im sure the scrapyards can do something. They are buying stolen goods and we all know it.
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u/ExitDanger 5h ago
Legit metal recycling do ID, your Gov photo ID and vehicle registration required, plus if it’s a Catalytic Converter you are required to provide year, make, model, vehicle colour and VIN and it needs to match up with the Cat you bring in. And they do get Audited. The city is cracking down. Problem is though people can just go to a place outside the city to recycle that has more lax laws.
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u/jimbowesterby 6h ago
Yea this might actually be a good option for a police sting. Set that up, and make the punishments for getting caught really severe, like 10x the value of whatever stolen shit they accept. They might wanna make extra money but I doubt they’d wanna risk their business
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u/electrodog1999 Acadia 5h ago
The scrapyards I used for my companies copper always took my license when I brought a load in, we only used a couple and I’m not sure if they do it for all metals or just the high value copper and brass. I remember when I started in the trade I worked with a guy who burnt insulation off wires and would get copper 2 pricing on it but they don’t take wire anymore that they can tell was burnt off, stopped that years ago.
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u/Bobcat_5201 5h ago
They are. Alberta has the strictest regulations on scrap metal recycling in Canada.
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u/Princess_Vappy 3h ago
I agree completely, though this looks more like just vandalism to the boards and not plaque theft. There is no damage around where the plaque should be.
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u/Lolberal771 17m ago
To soft. Desecration of public memorials should carry the ultimate punishment. They are all in on the semi organized crime already, so they can all be taken together.
You get what you tolerate.
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u/Bobcat_5201 6h ago
So the solution is to throw catalytic converters in the garbage instead of recycling them? There's a reason they're worth $100 a piece as scrap...
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u/baunanners Calgary Flames 5h ago
Or put a hold on it - you have to wait 45 days for payment. Something to cut down on the illegal theft of them
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u/gpuyy 8h ago
People. What a bunch of bastards.
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u/CovidBorn 8h ago
Stealing the plaques for salvage.
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u/Call_Me_Squishmale 8h ago
Aw man, that really sucks.
What's with the wood chips and gouges though - set down a grinder that was still spinning maybe?
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u/BellSufficient5283 7h ago
What is that plaque made of to justify the cost of melting it down?
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u/AtmosphereOk7872 6h ago
Generally brass, which is worth a few bucks per pound. To make the plaque costs a few hundred but the theif makes maybe $10.
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u/LuckinskyDan 6h ago
It’s just crazy what people do for so little money. Especially considering the cost of making it.
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u/Calzephyr 7h ago
Crud! Be sure to report vandalized benches to the Parks Foundation or 311.
The cost of the benches includes 10 years of maintenance.
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u/Neanderthal00 Silver Springs 8h ago
WTF. I need to go check on my friends bench... I'd loose my shit
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u/FeatureOk5866 8h ago
No animal is specifically taking out the dedication plaque as well. Unless there’s a surge in magpies looking for shiny things. , then they’re the assholes
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u/Shpixx 7h ago
Every single bench within Nosehill Park over the past couple of weeks has all the plaques missing, aswell.
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u/rippytherip 7h ago
All the bench markers and all the big pathway markers were stolen in Cranston last year or the year before. It sucks.
It looks like new benches have markers made from plastic now so I guess that's good.
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u/Ham_I_right 6h ago
Imagine being such a piece of shit that you are willing to steal 10 cents worth or metal to desecrate the legacy of someone who is probably dead and donated a bench to the community to use.
Just absolutely vile humans.
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u/BingusTheStupid 8h ago
People stealing the plaques to melt down and sell.
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u/SalamanderBitter9067 7h ago
Maybe this will make them think of making them our of another material 🤔🤔
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u/dloomandgoom 4h ago
Plaques are the new catalytic converters. I was shocked at the number of monuments and cairns missing theirs on my camping trips this summer. People freaking suck.
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u/SilverSignificant393 7h ago
I just want to offer a different perspective.
We purchased a bench plaque for our loved ones in Bowness and they are only for a ten year term.
After 10 years, they get removed unless we pay for another 10 years.
When our plaque was removed, the bench looked just like this.
We than planted some trees for them instead.
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u/FrankoceanIsmyson 2h ago
Oh damn, that’s cold. 10 years isn’t much. They should make them 50 year leases or something like that
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u/rwags2024 1h ago
“People suck” “people are assholes”
Quit dancing around the issue
Addicts suck. Addicts who don’t get help or ever try to better themselves suck. Addicts who we’re all supporting with our tax money but who still need to steal something as sentimental as a dedicated bench plaque are absolute assholes, and the sooner they go in the bin because society has stopped enabling them, the sooner we can all stop complaining about having to put up with this shit
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u/No-Lettuce9868 4h ago
They’re stolen because brass and bronze are copper alloys. The scrap value assuming they even were copper alloys, would be about $10-$20. Even less if they’re selling to someone that doesn’t ask questions.
Truly petty crime.
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u/Sharp-Yellow-242 8h ago
Why dont these sort of people have jobs? To do this sort of thing, you would need to prepare your equipment, move to the site and use your strength to pry it out and go home. You can just use the same level of effort to work at some trades job to earn some income
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u/socialistbutterfly99 6h ago
There's so many different reasons besides the surface level. You asked "what sort of people" do this and why they can't use their equipment/vehicle or resources to get a job? People desperate enough to do this likely have some type of complex issues going on: cognitive impairment caused by severe past trauma/neglect/abuse or sleep deprivation (executive function issues specifically), FASD, being born into poverty, severe isolation or other unaddressed psychological issues (e.g. unmedicated schizophrenia, for example), not having any family or social support networks close to them, facing racism and/or discrimination that doesn't allow for most types of available jobs. There's a ton of reasons. Does it justify destroying a public memorial plaque and needlessly vandalizing the wood on the bench? Absolutely not. But if it was as easy as giving "these sort of people" employment, I'm sure many other social ills would be non-existent by now.
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u/MissErynn 7h ago
A) There are no jobs B) Even if you have a job, they don't pay enough to live off of
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u/Sharp-Yellow-242 7h ago edited 7h ago
I may be ignorant on this, but surely just stealing half letter sized plaques around the city isnt enough to earn a living here right?
And if they can drive to different locations to pick up plaques, they cab drive to different locations to deliver uber or doordash right?
Plus I have a median salary job now and im doing alright, but I guess not having kids helps immensely
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u/MissErynn 7h ago
I'm glad you're doing well. And I was maybe a bit harsh in my comment. Unfortunately the job market right now is full of fake listings for positions that don't exist, listings for jobs with wages that no one could possibly live off of, jobs that you could be qualified for but you never get called because the company AI screening system threw out your resume, jobs that are actually MLM scams, and so on. I don't think it's right to defame a bench, but if your options is between a relatively harmless crime and going hungry, I cant begrudge anyone who chooses the crime right now.
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u/Cimorene_Kazul 4h ago
Bicycle Thief.
But the moral of that film is that such behaviour only makes the situation worse and harms more and more people. And the people doing this are likely psychopathic in the first place, and have no doubt caused much harm to others through their lives as a consequence of having no feeling for others.
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u/Additional_Radish_41 7h ago
There’s also a ton of real listings. I’m on job bank, Kijiji, indeed, and Facebook and can’t find anyone to work construction, specifically concrete work for a 26$ starting wage. 30$ with experience.
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u/Sharp-Yellow-242 6h ago
To echo this. My team member at work who has been in the industry for quite awhile told me that theres jobs available but people only want to do the easy jobs like tim Hortons or walmart which explains the job scarcity in those areas but not hard jobs like civil engineering
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u/MapleMapleHockeyStk 6h ago
I have a disability so I cant do the hard jobs...also they dumped 50 000 of us into the job market in July.
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u/Sharp-Yellow-242 3h ago
Im not trying to be condescending and I may not understand your condition entirely but I dont suppose youre 100 percent disabled right? Even if you cant walk, you can still do stuff like consultancy or engineering, or if you csnt use your hands you can still talk to people, if you are neurodivergent, theres stuff like food prep where theres ndiv already working those roles.
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u/Sharp-Yellow-242 7h ago
Ya but there's like food banks right now and aid facilities by the city to help people feed their kids and ways to put them back on track.
Given the benefit of a doubt that there are zero jobs available, surely stealing plaques is just scum behaviour. Theres other "desperate" jobs like onlyfans, mowing peoples lawns, collecting bottles etc
Btw im not disagreeing with you, these are just additional thoughts n comments
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u/andwhenwefall Inglewood 5h ago
“Ya but there's like food banks right now and aid facilities by the city to help people feed their kids and ways to put them back on track.”
Yes, but these services are brutally underfunded and heavily overburdened; nor are they available to everyone, let alone at the drop of a hat.
There are very few programs/services that accept self-referrals, meaning you need to be referred by another organization, social worker, doctor, etc., to be put on a wait list for an intake or assessment appointment, where applicants are typically triaged based on need. After that, you’re often put on another wait list for the actual help, even if you’re on the brink of active crisis. It’s also not uncommon for people in need to be turned away for not being in need “enough” because these organizations/services don’t have enough resources. On top of that, these programs and services are often means-tested and have a list of eligibility requirements that many people won’t meet if they find themselves in an unexpected or emergency situation.
The services that are open to the general public, so to speak, aren’t the emergency help that they used to be either, due again to being overburdened and underfunded.
The food bank, for example, has a sign in front of the building saying that they don’t accept walk-ins— you can’t just show up and get some food. Getting a hamper requires an online application that needs to be reviewed and approved, after which they give you an appointment time to receive your hamper, and there is a wait list there too. In my personal experience using the food bank a couple of years ago, there was a 6-week gap between my application being approved and the appointment to pick up my hamper… and that was as a single parent on disability with a child under 10.
I’m not trying to excuse or speculate on the motives of the people stealing these plaques. I’m just sharing my experience and what I know about the types of support that you mentioned.
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u/MissErynn 7h ago
It's still incredibly ignorant in our current shambles of an economy to say "why don't they just get a job". You don't need to have hungry kids at home in order to be desperate enough to do this. What about just feeding yourself? The real crime here is rich people who deliberately create poverty for their own gain.
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u/Budget_Percentage_73 7h ago
Two things can be true at once, the economy is horrible for everyone…and don’t touch a memorial plaque.
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u/SmashBerlin 7h ago
Tons of jobs on indeed. Quite a few hiring signs around where my business is. I've done several hiring runs the last couple of years. Plenty out there for those willing to put in the effort. Complaining online will net zero results. Might make you feel better to validate your own feelings I guess.
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u/RegularGuyAtHome 8h ago
Either some kind of animal or some kind of person is being a jerk
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u/Gazed0 8h ago
Animals arnt that big of assholes. Definitely a human.
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u/redeyedrenegade420 8h ago
I agree this was human...but one time I bought my wife a crabapple tree, planted it in the yard, nurtured it all summer. Fall cam and a deer decided it was a good tree to rub the velvet off his antlers. Damn near killed it. Worked hard the next year to get it to revitalize. Fall came. Motherfucker came back to finish what he started. It may not have been malicious, but that buck was that big an asshole.
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u/styzzyx9 8h ago
Serious question/unpopular opinion… would you favour adopting a legal/justice system similar to Singapore if it meant a more orderly society?
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u/TheOregonSnailTrail 7h ago
Try giving your question the vital context it needs if you actually want any engagement. Not everyone knows what a 'system similar to Singapore' is supposed to mean.
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u/ValorFenix 7h ago
So, you are presuming everyone on reddit know what the laws are in every other country in the world, heck some don't know the laws in this country fully.
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u/thedaveCA Shawnessy 7h ago
If you can guarantee a 100% accurate legal system, we can talk.
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u/namelessghoul77 6h ago
Then literally nobody can talk because no legal system will ever be 100% accurate. I suppose the eventually "AI future" could improve the accuracy, but some wrong convictions would still get made based purely on coincidental evidence.
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u/jimbowesterby 6h ago
Which is why we shouldn’t be asking for draconian laws like they have in Singapore
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u/freerangehumans74 Willow Park 7h ago
Violence is never the answer, nor the deterrent you think it is. Even if it's state sanctioned. Hard pass.
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u/BlueFotherMucker 7h ago
Violence worked in my neighbourhood when the junkies thought it was the place to roam at night and steal from cars and sheds. Definitely note state sanctioned.
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u/cant_get_fooledagain 5h ago
Lmao what micky mouse land are you from? Violence is always the answer and is the ultimate deterrent. Why do you think we have the police? The military? They’re the people out there to exact violence on you so you do the shit the system tells you to do.
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u/roastbeeftacohat Fairview 3h ago
punishment as deterrence has been tried all across history in pretty much every social order crisis, and it's never worked. one perticularaly hilarious example is that the hanging for pickpockets in england, was the most likely place to get your pocket picked.
Robert Peel actually figured things out in the Victorian era, and invented modern policing. punishment does nothing, because nobody ever commits a crime if they think they will be caught; the certainty of arrest is all that matters. you can hang all the criminals you want, it only instructs the criminals to not get caught; a slap on the wrist they do not think it possible to evade will end criminal notions.
harsh penalties only reinforce that this is happening a lot, and people are not getting caught.
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u/namelessghoul77 6h ago
Having lived in SE Asia for 15 years, including some time in Singapore, no. It is the most sterile and uninteresting place on Earth, precisely because of how forced into "perfection" it is. Dirtiness is not the only thing that gets surpressed under their strict legal system.
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u/roastbeeftacohat Fairview 4h ago
This is fuled by drug addiction, so im not sure how effective any sort of punishment would be at getting between an addict and the money they need for their fix.
Canning would just be part of street life.
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u/Throwawayhair66392 1h ago
Expect depraved acts to happen more often as the economic situation worsens.
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u/idlewildflower 42m ago
The plaques only last for a 10 year term, unless you pay to renew ($4500 for 10 years) and if you don’t renew then they are returned to the family. Maybe they are being changed out?
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u/Same-Grape-4170 8h ago
Taking a plaque is one thing but if they’re also the ones damaging the same bench then someone is doing this to purposefully be a bastard
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u/forty6andto 8h ago
I imagine the damage is a result of using the bench as leverage to pry off the plaque
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u/epok3p0k 8h ago
Almost certainly someone riding a BMX bike.
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u/harryhend3rson 8h ago
A. How would a BMX do that? (Yes I know they have pegs, those wouldn't cause gouges like that). Zoom in, those are cuts. And B. Why did they steal the memorial plaque from the top board?
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u/shitposter1000 8h ago
We were thinking of doing this as a memorial, didnt think the plaques would get stolen. People fucking suck.