Police: Don’t Be a Victim of an Auto Burglary

TYLER — Police in Tyler are issuing some auto burglary prevention tips. In 2010, the Tyler Police Department investigated 1,200 auto burglaries. That total is almost cut in half from the previous year of 2,104 auto-burglaries in 2009. With summer fast approaching and more people getting out shopping and enjoying outdoor activities, police say it’s an especially good time to remind you to secure your belongings inside your vehicle. Police say most auto burglaries involve smashed windows or other forcible means to gain entry to locked vehicles in order to get access to valuables.

Thefts from vehicles occur at all hours, day and night. Police say all auto burglaries generally have one thing in common: something to steal — something valuable left in the car. And many auto burglaries are “crimes of opportunity”; they could have been avoided had simple preventative steps been taken. According to police, auto burglary prevention, like all crime prevention, involves limiting the criminal’s ability and/or opportunity to commit the crime. With very little time and effort, police say, you can make a huge difference in your vulnerability to auto-burglary. It generally takes a mere few seconds to secure your valuables, but it will take only a few seconds more for a thief to break in and steal valuables left in plain sight.

The first thing you can do to help, according to officers: don’t leave valuables in your car – particularly in plain sight. They say the last thing you need is to find your vehicle’s window broken or items missing. Police suggest taking these simple but important steps to maintain your car’s safety:

* Don’t leave valuables in your car.
* If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items in your trunk or out of sight.
* Leave no trace of connector cables.
* Try to park in busy, well lighted areas.
* Lock ALL your vehicle’s doors.
* Set any alarm or anti-theft device.

Police add that if you see suspicious activity, report it immediately. “Suspicious Activity” would include:

* Persons walking up and down aisles of parking lots looking into cars or trying door handles, vehicles cruising parking lots at very slow speeds for extended periods while observing parked cars.
* Persons sitting in running parked cars for protracted periods, and vehicles dropping one person off while continuing to cruise the same area.