NPD FACEBOOK POST 9/3/14 - Why don't people lock their cars?
Okay – Why? We have to ask the question – Why would you park your car and leave your keys in it…ANYWHERE??
Police officers ask this question EVERY-TIME we get a report of a
stolen vehicle and find that the owner left their keys in the
car…EVERY-TIME!!
I don’t know the answer and will probably never get the answer, but we
have to at least consider that the car owners just don’t realize how
simple they are making it for car thieves to do their job!
If
you are one of these victims – we are not posting this to pick on you –
ok, well, maybe we are - just a little though!! But what we really want
to do is educate others that could make the same mistake.
Reading the news this morning there were a slew of articles relating to
stolen vehicles in the area – Middlebury, Southbury & Watertown to
name a few… Those agencies are reminding citizens to lock their cars and
to not leave their keys in them as well.
Well, we here at the
NPD would like to do the same but also would like to let you know how
some of these thefts occur. In speaking with many arrested car thieves
(BTW, many times they are juveniles), they often report to us after
having been arrested – that they simply pull the handles on cars while
walking through neighborhoods and then pick through the cars left
unsecured for any valuables they can find – and if they happen upon a
set of keys – BINGO, they are off to the races, WITH YOUR CAR!
In other situations we’ve encountered here in the Borough, people not
only leave their keys in their cars, but they leave the car running to
make a quick stop in a convenience store or gas station….Okay people,
this is like placing a huge neon sign on your car saying “STEAL ME –
PLEASE”!! After interviewing the subjects arrested for this type of
theft, they have told us they simply waited a few minuets at a store and
wait for someone to park and leave their car running – and that most
times the wait is minimal!
Unlike some other crimes that you
can fall victim to after doing everything right – these crimes you can
prevent VERY EASILY by simply LOCKING YOUR CAR and TAKING YOUR KEYS WITH
YOU! The few seconds you save in convenience by dodging this advice can
cost you a lot more time and aggravation if you fall victim… Just
saying!!