Rent Fake Police Cars to Keep Burglars Away

Well, hi there! I though it was you orbiting around cyberspace. Glad you dropped in. Coffee's always perky here and our virtual treat selection is second to none. Help yourself! Say... do you have a home security system? Well here's an idea for you.

Who needs an expensive home security system when you have a police car parked right outside your home? That’s what Swiss entrepreneur Andras Birrer thought when he decided to rent out fake police cars to people who travel a lot or go away on long holidays.

It all started out as a gimmick ad for a local newspaper in Andras Birrer’s home town of Sursee, near Lucerne. The owner of a local car rental firm, Birrer had the brilliant idea to paint a Hyundai i40 in the colors of the Swiss police, fit it with warning lights and advertise it as an effective way to discourage burglars. 

The newspaper ad read: “Don’t want your home broken into? Are you leaving on vacation soon? Rent our police car, we leave it parked outside your home the entire time”. It was meant to be a publicity stunt, but the ad got people so interested that the Swiss mechanic decided to actually provide the unusual service. 

Now he has a whole fleet of police car replicas available for 250 francs ($270) a week. Birrer is raking in a small fortune as his idea seems to have become a hit with frequent travelers and summer vacationers who truly believe the fake police cars can keep burglars away.

I'm sure that will work for a while...until the local B & E specialists catch onto it and start looking for police cars parked in front of houses. Talk about  advertising that you are not at home, eh! Why not put a list of your valuables on the front window as well so thieves will be able to decide if it's worth breaking in?

However, it could be a deterrent because thieves are not usually the most intelligent people in the world and given a choice, they'd likely pass by any home with a police car parked outside. Here's a less expensive way to do it...put a fake security sticker on your windows and doors. You can make these quickly using your computer and printer. Go to images.google.com and search for 'PROTECTED BY...' You'll find lots of suitable stickers you can download, copy and print. This has the same effect for a lot less moolah!

See ya, eh!

Bob