An enforcement initiative intended to build on a successful effort during the 2008 holiday season will again target criminals caught breaking into vehicles. The Sugar Land Police Department combined targeted patrols, surveillance, citizen volunteers and education last year to address an annual increase in motor vehicle burglaries that cities across the nation experience during holiday seasons.
“We’re aggressively attacking a problem that we see throughout the year, but more so during the holidays,” said SLPD Sgt. Mike Richards. “Drivers are leaving property in their vehicles, which creates an easy target for thieves. Those caught breaking into vehicles will be arrested and stand a good chance of spending their Christmas in jail.”
Items typically targeted during vehicle burglaries include purses, wallets, computer equipment and electronics (i.e., I-pods, GPS devices, cellular phones and radar detectors).
SLPD will focus on areas identified as “hot spots” – particularly shopping centers and health clubs – with a combination of enforcement, citizen and business owner partnerships and public awareness.
SLPD has released the following tips to help prevent vehicle burglaries:
-
Keep vehicles locked at all times.
-
When parked overnight, remove all valuables from vehicles.
-
When shopping, make one trip to the car with purchased
-
merchandise, and then leave the lot. Thieves have been known to watch shoppers as they place merchandise in their cars before returning to a store.
-
Never leave identification, wallets, credit cards or jewelry in vehicles while visiting fitness centers. Doing so is much riskier than using a locker inside the gym or leaving the items at home.
-
If personal property must be left in a car, lock it in the trunk. Unfortunately, this option does not exist for pick-up trucks or SUVs. Thieves are aware that there is no secure place to store items in these types of vehicles.
-
Finally, before you leave a vehicle, take a second to look inside and make sure nothing is visible from the outside that could attract a thief.
18. November 2009 at 9:42 am
It’s really a shame we can’t boobytrap our vehicles. Wouldn’t be great if when they grabbed the door handle it sent 3,000 volts thru them? 8^)
18. November 2009 at 9:09 am
Thank you SLPD for keeping a watch out!