Philly Show Theft - Be vigilant

[bcbgcbrcb]

Wow, I must be going to a different Philly show than everybody else. I was just there in September and don’t recall seeing anything like a shopping center in the same lot. Was also there last December and didn’t see anything then either. Maybe the direction I was coming from, does that make sense at all?

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Wow, I must be going to a different Philly show than everybody else. I was just there in September and don’t recall seeing anything like a shopping center in the same lot. Was also there last December and didn’t see anything then either. Maybe the direction I was coming from, does that make sense at all?

If you enter from the east you come through a park and that's about it, but it's a HUGE complex. It's a Lowe's not a Home Depot and some of the locations I mentioned aren't noted on the map, but this is all a giant shared parking lot. map is oriented with the bottom just about due east.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Can’t tell from the map that, like you said, doesn’t show any of the businesses mentioned, other than the Lowes. I would be coming from my hotel straight down Station Ave all the way to signs for the Expo Center. I don’t see any other food or retail stores in between. Maybe if I went beyond the Expo Center and kept going. Anyway, I think where the dealers/collectors park is mostly out of public view unless you are attending the card show. Keeping in mind, these are at least semi-professional thieves, not teenagers pulling pranks. Over three days they can watch what time some of the highest profile dealers get there in the morning and leave at the end of the day, what direction they come from and head towards, etc. The trend now is heavily towards robberies taking place outside the show venue with calculated hits at local establishments if not the parking lot at the venue. This avoids the most likely chance of getting caught via security cameras.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Station ave, coming from the east is empty. But just because they're not noted on the map doesn't mean they're not there. The map shows, Lowe's the Hilton Garden Inn and the movie theatre which were all mentioned in my post. Not sure why Target and BJ's don't make the cut. PJ Welihan's is just represented by the knife and fork symbol and the Hampton Inn is also missing. The myriad smaller shops are understandable in their absence but there is a lot going on there.

While there has been at least one theft in the parking lot, what we've been hearing about has nothing to do with the location of the show. Loading your car and getting followed somewhere and then hit makes the actual locale of the show pretty irrelevant, at least to my way of thinking.

The side parking lot that many dealers use is definitely a little secluded, but from the main entrance of the show a number of the businesses are easily within view.


However my point was this is hardly "The middle of nowhere" and I stand by that as everything I listed is within very easy walking distance of the show. The scale on my map is 1" = 500 feet

[notfast]

Since this has been something that’s happened more than once, I fully expect a visible police presence in the parking lot during/after the shows going forward. Probably should be something that happens at most shows anyway.

Maybe that would deter someone from hanging out and waiting for a person to follow.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by notfast

Since this has been something that’s happened more than once, I fully expect a visible police presence in the parking lot during/after the shows going forward. Probably should be something that happens at most shows anyway.

Maybe that would deter someone from hanging out and waiting for a person to follow.

Maybe hired security but to waste real police/tax payers money on this would be silly IMHO.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Maybe hired security but to waste real police/tax payers money on this would be silly IMHO.

There were real police inside the show throughout the weekend. I would guess that is paid for by the show and not just provided by the local area at cost to the tax payers.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Maybe hired security but to waste real police/tax payers money on this would be silly IMHO.

Very common for on duty police to be at largely attended events…

But at this point, promoters probably need to hire security/off duty etc