Ok, so in my mystery (I know, I'm already worried about outlining...) I'm planning on having the character that gets knocked off be a sneak thief. You know, the kind that sneaks into rich old ladies' houses and swipes their jewels. Does anyone know of any good websites (or books for that matter) that would offer even the slightest information about a thief's methods, practices, how they get past alarm systems, etc? I mean, I've seen movies, so I know the basic idea is to avoid the laser beams or disable the alarm and such. But I would like some detailed info to give it a nice bit of realism. I've tried looking on wikipedia, but can't find much. Suggestions?
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59,126 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 05 09
I don't think the avoid the laser beam thing works the same way in real life as it does in the movies. I saw a TV show recently that talked about a theif who specialized in hing-end silver. He usually choose houses where there was a family dog because those houses were less likely to have motion alarms. He carried doggy treats and apparently was good at getting past dogs. I imagine the same thing about motion alarms would hold true with cats. They tend to roam everywhere and jump on things, so someone with a cat might just alarm the doors and windows and not have motion alarms. Then the thief just has to get past those alarms. The silver theif did that by finding houses with panel doors, then cutting through a panel at the bottom, removing that and crawling through. So he never actually opened a door or window. He was so good it sometimes took people days to realize they'd been robbed.
Marie
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Oct 4, 2007 - 05 49
First suggestion would be to set the action back in the 1930s, or 50s or whenever tickled your fancy, as long as it was a time before home alarm systems became widespread. Thatw ould be the easy way ...
Or maybe your theif specialises in burglarising houses while people are in them - which would mean that the alarm system wasn't activated, of course. This would also lead to some tense cat-and-mouse activity,a s your audacious theif eludes detection.
When I tried to write a burglary it seemed so unconvincing that I changed it in editing, and had the burglar (actually my MC) assault the house owner (a scummy blackmailer, so he deserved it) and force him to let him in.
The Raffles stories by EW Hornung are the king of cat burglar fiction. They are set in Victorian England, however, so not really a help. Great fun to read, though.
50,979 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 06 13
I just read this thread with interest, as my detective is a sneak thief. My mystery is in a fantasy setting, so laser alarms are not an issue. Although it occurs to me that I should give some thought to magical alarms . . .
*wanders off muttering to herself*
----------Gale . . . www.ThornesQuest.com . . . or . . . www.StringingWords.net
50,830 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 21 35
Yahoo groups had a Crime Scene Writers Group. They might be able to help you. Just join and post your questions.
----------Pat
NaNo 2007 His Halloween Witches
NaNo 2006 Witch in Flames Winner
NaNo 2005 What Witch? Not My Witch! Winner
NaNo 2004 The Odd Cops: Love Undercover Winner
8,296 / 50,000
Oct 6, 2007 - 17 54
Thanks... I'll do that.
50,344 / 50,000
Aug 3, 2008 - 18 33
That was my first thought too. Crimescenewriter. It's a fabulous group!
----------NaNo '06: Flowers Of Blood (police procedural): Winner
