Smashed Car Window, Nothing Stolen 11Pm

[Malachite]

Why would someone do this?
I live in a suburb of SW London and someone has just smashed in the driver's side front window of my car for no apparent reason.
I heard a car alarm going off, looked out of my window and saw it was mine. So I went out there within the space of a couple of minutes and saw what had happened, looked up and down the road: no sign of any miscreant running away. Nothing stolen, no signs of rummaging, no sign of an object thrown so I assume some passing scroat did it with a tool and ***d of pretty fast. But why the window? It would have been easier to smash the wing mirror off.
I had it parked with the window facing the road.
While I was surveying the damage (within about 5 min of hearing the car alarm) two mopeds came down the road side by side pretty quickly, I don't know if there could be any connection. Crime rate here is moderate (mostly burglaries). There is a tatty looking motor mower in the back (it's an estate) and a few bits of gardening paraphernalia (rake, shears, brush etc) all used looking, nothing really nickable.
Damn :-(

[Malachite]

*Just remembered* I had it parked at the back end of the road yesterday (same side facing in) and the wing mirror had been knocked but not damaged. Perhaps just a coincidence.

[Buenchico]

11pm? The's classic "I need to get home" territory:

You've come out of a pub, miles from home, and you need some transport. So you look for a car that you hope hasn't got a working alarm (and which you think you're able to quickly hot-wire) and smash the driver's side front window to get in. However the alarm sounds, so you effect a rapid departure. It happens all the time (and all over the country).

[david small]

Alternatively, a thicko drunkard smashed it because he felt like it, as happened recently to a bloke I know. Vandalism sheer mindlessness.

[Buenchico]

^^^ Yup! That often happens around pub closing time too!

[Malachite]

What worries me a bit, and makes me paranoid is that the day before, when I had it parked down the far end of the road (same side) I found the mirror knocked in (but not damaged). What makes me even more paranoid is that I had the back window of a different car I was driving a few months ago smashed in when it was parked in the next road up. Again nothing stolen, no signs of searching. I wonder if I have some sort of car-damaging stalker!

[Old_Geezer]

Try installing a dash cam ?
Preferably a hidden one.

[Ken4155]

My area used to have a problem with car vandalism a few years back. Every 3 or 4 months, a few unfortunate owners would be alerted by the sounding of their car alarms - yes, usually just after chucking out time at the local pubs. On investigation they would discover a wing mirror on the road by the car or damaged. This happened for a couple of years then stopped abruptly. Probably when those responsible became car owners themselves?

[Prudie]

This happened to me and it was just mindless vandalism. The driver's window was completely crackled with one obvious impact circle but still in tact but the minute I touched it the whole thing fell into a 1000 pieces so they definitely weren't trying to get in.
I need to warn you that the aftermath was a pain, not least getting the right replacement glass but much more the glass crackles went everywhere, especially inside the door frame. It got in my speakers and made them rattle, bu$$ered the electric window motor and I could probably still find glass somewhere now even though it's been cleared and vacuumed many a time.

[davebro]

If considering a house move it may be worth taking the crime level of the area into account.

https://www.police.uk/search/

[david small]

I feel vigilante patrols at certain hours are the way to curtail this worrying development. PC plod no longer walks the beat, so loutish behaviour appears to go unpunished.