Take it or break it.

In Japan thieves steal safes by simply take the whole thing. Resourceful crews, using a jack, a pushcart and a truck, are making away with huge safes, weighing as much as several hundred kilograms. The safes are taken to dumps and other lonely areas, where they are opened-mostly with hydraulic excav...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Economist Vol. 365; no. 8301; p. 66
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Economist Newspaper Limited 11/30/2002
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:In Japan thieves steal safes by simply take the whole thing. Resourceful crews, using a jack, a pushcart and a truck, are making away with huge safes, weighing as much as several hundred kilograms. The safes are taken to dumps and other lonely areas, where they are opened-mostly with hydraulic excavators swiped from nearby building-sites. Such robberies have been rising. Anecdotal evidence suggests that dozens of safes in and around Tokyo are whisked away each month. A post office in Kobe lost a 2oo-kilo vault filled with ¥160m in stamps and cash. The gambit appeals because stealing a safe takes less time than stealing its contents. Robbers do not have to worry about sophisticated alarm systems monitored by high-tech security companies, since they can cart off a big vault in three or four minutes-less time than it takes even the quickest security firm to respond. Cockier gangs even make off with automated teller machines (ATMs).