How to Deter a Coin Thief?

My colleagues and I have recently discovered that there is a thief in Binghamton who travels around  poorly lit neighborhoods at night, breaks into cars, and steals coins. What is puzzling about this situation is that this individual does not try to steal more expensive things, such as the cars themselves or expensive car parts like GPS units. Nevertheless, even though the person is just stealing coins, they still could damage someone's car.  

So here's the scenario: a person wants to deter this coin thief, but they do not want to spend too much time, effort, and money doing so. All they're really losing is some change (although there is a possibility that their car could get damaged). What can they do to deter the coin thief that is a cheap and effective method?

Ideas (some more serious than others)

1. Don't leave any visible change in the car.

2. Do leave visible change, but either super-glue it to the car itself, or glue the coins together.

3. Put a motion censored light outside your house.

4. Put a very bright light inside your car.

5. Put a sticker on your car that indicates that you're associated with law enforcement, that you're a hunter, or that you're the head of a very scary organized crime organization.

More ideas?

About Julie VanDusky-Allen

Julie VanDusky-Allen is at Boise State University and received her PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University in 2011. Her research focuses on institutional choice and development, political parties, the legislative process, and Latin American politics.

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