There have recently been a number of overnight thefts from autos in the South District and a majority of the incidents have involved cars that were left unlocked. Crime prevention requires a team approach with efforts from both the police and the community. Please consider the following:
- Always lock your car doors and keep the windows closed.
- Never leave your vehicle running if unattended.
- Limit the amount of personal information kept in the glove box or console to avoid identity theft.
- Remove, or at a minimum, conceal anything of value in your car. Popular items stolen are – purses, wallets, loose change/money, CD's, radar detectors, portable GPS units. Please - never leave valuables in plain sight.
- Never leave your keys in your car.
- If you park outside of your house and garage, don't leave a garage door opener in your car (this is essentially a key to your home).
- Back into a parking space if possible.
- Lighting in general may help deter people. Motion lights are a good deterrent.
- Keep your garage door closed even when you are home.
Please report all thefts, attempted thefts and suspicious behavior. This type of information can really help guide our efforts and it gives our officers more ability to be "surgical" with their patrols. People can never overload us with information on what is occurring and what they are seeing!
Thefts from cars are difficult to investigate. Often our best opportunities emerge with tracking stolen goods. Please record your model numbers and serial numbers of valuable items. We use LeadsOnline to track pawned items and have had success with locating stolen goods. Citizens can enter information about their property to the database as well, which can assist police with recovery efforts. Please take a look at the link here: https://www.reportit.leadsonline.com/
