There is a thief amongst us !!

[Frogo]

Unfortunately Bushcraft has become a big name and does attract a lot of attention due to a lot of high value kit, a thief is a thief and will blend in very well with his surroundings, one thing is, he probably wont turn up again, returning to the scene of the crime etc.

I think we need to be careful as not to turn this into a witch hunt and every one turning up at meets afraid to leave there kit unattended. So if it is someone who is part of bushcraft lets hope he or she does the right thing and sends it back to Lurch.

 

[Karl82]

this was my first meet and i had a great time till i woke up now and read this thread im realy saidend by this not becouse i fall under suspition but becouse someone could stoop so low as to steal not only from someone trying to make a liveing but from a meet where kit is ment to be safe and ok to be left without worry of theft, to be honest i hope the theif cuts his finger off with the knife and that still wont be justice. who ever took the knife retune it to Mark theives are not welcome in bushcraft if you want to steal go somewhere else coz if i catch you steeling at a meet im at it will be the last time you ever do.

 

[robin wood]

if i catch you steeling at a meet im at it will be the last time you ever do.

If I catch someone stealing they will remember it forever.

thieving buggers who do indeed need their fingers readjusted.

This stuff just makes me sad. I thought we were a more mature better bunch than that.

 

[Barn Owl]

This stuff just makes me sad. I thought we were a more mature better bunch than that.

Being a retired cop and having an insight to the social problems that can cause a person to pilfer I have to say that the quotes given by Karl, Widu and Nat are SPOT ON!

 

[Karl82]

well Robin the attitude of let it slide lets just look the other way is the reasion that society has gone down hill in the last 20 to 30 years. this sed i will still go to meets and i will trust people on this fourm im just warning the maybe theifs that are out their dont cross my path you have had fair warning.

 

[forestwalker]

Being a retired cop and having an insight to the social problems that can cause a person to pilfer I have to say that the quotes given by Karl, Widu and Nat are SPOT ON!

So, what kind of crimes is it ok to "handle yourself"? Which punishments are ok to hand out for what crimes? What kind of evidence does one need before one takes action? Is there a good way to keep us -- or a group -- all from convincing ourselves that it is the funny looking new guy with the poor social skills that is the culprit, and taking the "appropriate action". Is there a good way handle "oops, we jumped to the wrong conclusion and broke the wrong guys fingers"?

Nobody is saying it is ok to steal, just that vigilante justice has been tried, but not with spectacular success.

 

[Karl82]

well how is anyone cought with evidance haveing the item on their person and or more than just one witness to the act of seeing someone else take a item from someone else kit not just random acusations, being cought red handed is the only time i would use phisical restraint to alow the police time to come out and make a arrest and if you resist you get hurt. oh as to your what do you do for what crim senario if you see someone driveing dangeriously you phone the police and report it on a hands free phone if your driveing or pull over. if you see a mugger phone the police if you dont want to phisical get involved. i personaly would chace them down and recover the bag/ purse/ what ever was stolen and yes i have done that befor and would do it again, im not saying thats what you must do but to just stand by and do nothing is as bad as doing it yourself at least report it.

 

[BarryG]

Not least newcomers such as me. I sincerely hope the person in question returns the goods to Mark and removes the shadow of suspicion from the rest of us.

That aside I had an excellent time at Middlewood over the weekend and met a lot of people I only knew from these pages. I'd especially like to thank Mark for bringing the Opinel 'butter knife' I asked for, Tetley & Flumf for graciously lending me a spork for he duration, and last but not least, Simon for pulling it al together.
Looking forward to the next one.

I second that.. I went to my first meet, and had a fantastic time. One thing that struck me, was how safe i felt the place to be. The place oozed trust and goodwill. I left some expensive kit about, including knives, on several occasions...nievely as it turns out.... I hope Lurch finds it buried amongst his kit (probably wishful thinking). It would be a huge disappointment if its been stolen. This is the kind of thing that damages the communal spirit that underpins this type of meeting.

 

[Wayland]

I'm with Robin on this one.

I think it is despicable that some scumbag has abused Mark's hospitality and good grace but I think there is a danger in becoming paranoid about this kind of thing.

I regularly leave a lot of kit in my bivi and I'm not going to let an incident like this stop me doing that. The huge majority of folk in this community are honest and respectable people and I do hope that whoever this pathetic individual is, takes a long hard look at themselves and decides to do the decent thing.

Of course, if we ever catch the bug-er there are a lot of places to bury a body in the woods...

 

[Matt Weir]

That is a sad thing as peolple have said I know I haven't managed to get to any meets recently yet I have always had 100% trust in members I have met and never thought twice when I've left kit beneath my tarp. I feel really bad for anyone who did attend especially SimonM, putting myself in his position of organiser it would crush me if something like this happened - to a point where I'd think 'Is it worth it?'. I do hope Simon doesn't feel this way and continues the meets. I WILL make it again one day!

 

[Graham_S]

Can we please dial down the rhetoric a bit please.
No-one likes the thought of a thief among us, but vigilante action is not the way to solve the problem.

 

[Melonfish]

See the biggest surprise to me is that someone had the stones to steal something in front of a large group of people who play with knives and rope all day.
I'm gutted i missed the middlewood meet this time, but i agree that we should not let this one bad apple spoil the bunch. last time i left kit out without thinking about it, next i will do the same because i do trust you lot honestly i wouldn't think twice, once incident won't change that.

i do hope the thief sends either the money or the knife back to lurch, i know he's not massively out of pocket and he doesn't want to make a fuss, but its the principle of the thing.
and i do hope this won't spoil further meets at middlewood because i really missed having a laugh with everyone this year!
Pete

 

[SimonM]

Lets chalk this one up to experience guys...

I hope the knife turns up again, but don't think it will.

In the mean time, we can all look at our own practice to keep our, & others, gear safe.

Simple secirity devices are available to secure zips etc on rucksacs, but TBH I won't bother as IMHO good old fashioned vigilance never goes amiss. If we challenge folk, in a positive way, who approach empty camps, we go a long way to keeping each others gear safe.

Luggage lock ideal for securing bags, suitcases, skis, etc.

Specifications
100cm coated steel cable with spring retraction
Tough ABS plastic body
4 digit number combination

Weight
105g

Simon

 

[drewdunnrespect]

I have just got home from the Middlewood meet and had a most excellent time....Apart from one thing. As many of you know Mark aka "Lurch" from Lakeland Bushcraft Trading takes time out from his weekend with his new family to come down and set up shop in his Lavuu so all us green clad folks can peruse his wares, try them out and purchase what we need without messing about with websites, postage etc. Mark has done this for a few years now and yesterday I was shocked and dismayed to learn that someone thought it was their right to take one of the knives from his display without paying for it. I think this is selfish, dispicable and downright low !! This is Marks LIVING!! You're not just taking something from him, but from his wife and new baby !! I don't know if the thief will read this or not, but if you are take a deep look inside, and if you find a glimmer of decency and righteousness perhaps you should pack the knife up again and send it back to
Lakeland Bushcraft Trading Limited
Unit 2A Derwent Mills Commercial Park
Cockermouth Cumbria CA13 0HT.

It's in your hands. Do you step up and be a decent person? or do you remain a thieving scumbag.

Remember.... What goes around comes around !!

I'm sorry if this is a bit of a rant , but to be honest i'm bloody furious... I HATE stealing !!

well said dave mate i feel exactly the same and i would ave said something if u hadnt cos we cant have scum in our mists

 

[widu13]

Agreed that we should not blow this out of proportion.

I do not agree that we should let this slide. If everyone tackled thieves (and crime in general) with a firm stance there would be less of it- FACT.

 

[JonathanD]

Of course, if we ever catch the bug-er there are a lot of places to bury a body in the woods...

Hey, us bushcrafters don't waste good meat.

 

[Mesquite]

Hey, us bushcrafters don't waste good meat.

True... but wouldn't that meat be tainted?

 

[Black Sheep]

It saddens me to hear about this, Mark was good enough to ask if folks wanted anything brought along to look at and/or buy as he did for me & He was also kindly generous to offer me a pint of his finest homebrew.

He openly let people take the M-kettle and play with and allowed folks to enter his tent to browse and handle his stock and this should be respected.

I hope it turns up & doesn't leave a grey cloud over an otherwise excellent weekend.

Richard

 

[snozz]

Totally agree with the majority of sentiments here... Horrible thing to happen. but let's not let one bad apple and all that.

This was my first meet, and I, like the majority of others left several hundreds of pounds of kit lying under my tarp. Despite this event, I will do so again, as everyone I met there I felt was decent, trustworthy and someone like myself who would respect me and my kit.

It is a real shame that this has occurred, and I hope that if someone did take it then it is lying heavily on their conscience now...

Thanks Simon for organising the event and I hope this doesn't put you off doing it again.

Snozz

 

[MSkiba]

Sorry to hear about the loss Lurch. As a new comer I didnt get enough time in the day to visit every camp, and its a sad statement, but Im glad I never made it to look at your wares as I now would be paranoid people thought it was me (being new).

As I said to Simon but regarding litter. Next year raise the entry fee to cover the cost of stolen goods and litter picking. It will only work out an extra £1 onto the entry fee, but will give a youngster some pocket money to pick up litter at the end, and cover the cost of any valuables going missing. If nothing goes missing, donate the left over money to charity.

The theif will eventually be oust.