AUTO-BURGLARY ALERT
Don't be the next victim of an auto-burglary!
Over the course of 2009, there have been approximately 200 hundred auto-burglaries throughout the city of Tracy. These thefts/burglaries involve a loss of approximately $50,000+ in stolen property and damages. Most of these auto-burglaries involved smashed windows or other forcible means to gain entry to locked vehicles.
Thefts from vehicles occur at all hours, day and night. All auto-burglaries generally have one thing in common, something to steal or something valuable left in the car. Many auto-burglaries are "crimes of opportunity"; they could have been avoided had simple preventative steps been taken.
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, 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.
AUTO-BURGLARY
PREVENTION TIPS...
The first thing you can do to help: Don't leave valuables in your car - particularly not in plain sight!
Are your valuables VISIBLE?
Don't be the next car burglary victim!
The last thing you need is to find your vehicle's window broken or items missing. TPD suggest taking these simple but important steps to maintain your car's safety:
Don't leave valuables in your car. That sounds like "common sense", but drivers/passengers do leave items of value in plain view every day. If you leave valuable items visible in your car, your car is automatically a target.
If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination or move them inconspicuously. This includes packages, backpacks, gym bags, GPS units, MP3 players and so forth. Someone may be watching when you put items under a seat or throw something over them. An opportunistic thief is on the lookout for trunk-packing and can break into your car the minute you're out of sight.
If you can't take them with you, at least lock the items in your glove compartment (if capable of locking and large enough) or your trunk (if you have one).
One reason SUVs and pickups are common auto-burglary targets is because they don't have a "trunk" to hold valuables the driver/passenger generally "hide" their valuables "out of sight". The thieves know this and do check glove compartments, behind seats and under seats. It only takes a few seconds to check all the "usual" hiding places.
Unobtrusively locking everything valuable "in the trunk" (if you have one) may be difficult when you're combining errands at multiple destinations. Certainly avoid leaving packages or shopping bags visible in your car lock them in the trunk out of sight if you have to leave packages in your car unattended. Plan your shopping/errands so that you don't load your trunk until you are ready to drive to another destination; never open a trunk, fill it full of valuables, close it, and then just walk away. Once home, unload your valuables immediately. Do not store valuables in your car any longer than necessary, and certainly never overnight. If your trunk can be opened from inside your car without a key, lock this feature when you are not in your car or have it disabled, if possible.
Leave no trace. Don't leave any "sign" that there might be valuables "out of sight" in your vehicle, such as docking stations or connector cables. Leave nothing in "plain sight" that might make your vehicle worth "investigating" by a thief; not even loose coins or a CD.
Just leaving an empty docking station in plain sight, even if you've taken the high dollar component with you, may end up costing you hundreds of dollars to replace a broken window because the thief wanted to check your car for "hidden" valuables. Very few auto break-ins are "random" the thieves see "something" in plain sight that's valuable, or hints of possible hidden valuables. Just covering your valuables with something like a blanket or a jacket to hide it will probably only draw thieves' attention.
Try to park in busy, well-lit areas. Try to park in well-traveled areas. Large anonymous lots, like malls, are hit by thieves much more often than parking immediately adjacent to residential housing or other occupied buildings. Remember, day or night, "picking" your parking spot is easier said than done but try to choose a well-lit, visible, parking spot where there is lots of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Auto-burglars prefer breaking into cars where they will not be observed, and choose their targets accordingly.
Lock ALL your vehicle's doors even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time. Every year, there are items stolen from unlocked vehicles where the owner was only going to be gone "just for a second". It only takes seconds to steal your stuff! It's not at all uncommon for thieves to walk down a row of parked vehicles and check vehicle doors to see if they are unlocked. Don't leave any window open or even cracked open, including vent/wing windows and sunroofs.
Set any alarm or anti-theft device. If you have one, use it! Many people believe that car-alarms no longer make a difference, but they can be an effective deterrent to an auto-burglar, who most often chooses the easiest target.
Locking your car and setting your alarm is just part of the solution. Even if locked and alarmed, if you leave valuables or the hint of valuables in plain sight, a thief may target your car even knowing it's locked and alarmed. However, without a clear prize in sight, a locked/alarmed car will likely be bypassed for an easier "target of opportunity".
Don't think your dark tinted windows will hide your valuables. Thieves often use flashlights to see through tint, and after-market tint is handy to keep all the broken glass in one "sheet" when they break out your window.
What are the most commonly stolen items from vehicles?
Backpacks, gym bags, briefcases, day-planners
Cash/coins, checkbooks and credit/debit cards
Wallets and purses (even when hidden under a seat or in an unlocked glove compartment)
Laptop computers, iPods and MP3 players, (and docking stations)
Cell phones (and chargers)
Portable GPS navigation systems
Stereo/CD players (and faceplates), amps, speakers (even when bolted down!)
Jewelry, keys, mail (identity theft), tools
Anything of obvious value
What to do if something is stolen out of your car
As soon as you notice something's stolen (or that your car has been broken into) do not touch/adjust anything in, on, or around the car. As soon as possible, call the police to report the incident.
Report Suspicious Activity
If you see suspicious activity, report it to TPD at 831-4552.
"Suspicious Activity" would include:
Person(s) 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.
Person(s) sitting in running parked cars for protracted periods, and vehicles dropping one person off while continuing to cruise the same area. We'd prefer to check on an innocent citizen going about their business than to not check and end up taking a theft-from-a-vehicle report.
If you have questions concerning vehicle burglaries or other crimes, please contact the Tracy Police Department at 831-4550. Should you need to report an in-progress crime, please call 831-4552, or 911.
Don't be the next victim of an auto-burglary!
Over the course of 2009, there have been approximately 200 hundred auto-burglaries throughout the city of Tracy. These thefts/burglaries involve a loss of approximately $50,000+ in stolen property and damages. Most of these auto-burglaries involved smashed windows or other forcible means to gain entry to locked vehicles.
Thefts from vehicles occur at all hours, day and night. All auto-burglaries generally have one thing in common, something to steal or something valuable left in the car. Many auto-burglaries are "crimes of opportunity"; they could have been avoided had simple preventative steps been taken.
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, 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.
AUTO-BURGLARY
PREVENTION TIPS...
The first thing you can do to help: Don't leave valuables in your car - particularly not in plain sight!
Are your valuables VISIBLE?
Don't be the next car burglary victim!
The last thing you need is to find your vehicle's window broken or items missing. TPD suggest taking these simple but important steps to maintain your car's safety:
Don't leave valuables in your car. That sounds like "common sense", but drivers/passengers do leave items of value in plain view every day. If you leave valuable items visible in your car, your car is automatically a target.
If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination or move them inconspicuously. This includes packages, backpacks, gym bags, GPS units, MP3 players and so forth. Someone may be watching when you put items under a seat or throw something over them. An opportunistic thief is on the lookout for trunk-packing and can break into your car the minute you're out of sight.
If you can't take them with you, at least lock the items in your glove compartment (if capable of locking and large enough) or your trunk (if you have one).
One reason SUVs and pickups are common auto-burglary targets is because they don't have a "trunk" to hold valuables the driver/passenger generally "hide" their valuables "out of sight". The thieves know this and do check glove compartments, behind seats and under seats. It only takes a few seconds to check all the "usual" hiding places.
Unobtrusively locking everything valuable "in the trunk" (if you have one) may be difficult when you're combining errands at multiple destinations. Certainly avoid leaving packages or shopping bags visible in your car lock them in the trunk out of sight if you have to leave packages in your car unattended. Plan your shopping/errands so that you don't load your trunk until you are ready to drive to another destination; never open a trunk, fill it full of valuables, close it, and then just walk away. Once home, unload your valuables immediately. Do not store valuables in your car any longer than necessary, and certainly never overnight. If your trunk can be opened from inside your car without a key, lock this feature when you are not in your car or have it disabled, if possible.
Leave no trace. Don't leave any "sign" that there might be valuables "out of sight" in your vehicle, such as docking stations or connector cables. Leave nothing in "plain sight" that might make your vehicle worth "investigating" by a thief; not even loose coins or a CD.
Just leaving an empty docking station in plain sight, even if you've taken the high dollar component with you, may end up costing you hundreds of dollars to replace a broken window because the thief wanted to check your car for "hidden" valuables. Very few auto break-ins are "random" the thieves see "something" in plain sight that's valuable, or hints of possible hidden valuables. Just covering your valuables with something like a blanket or a jacket to hide it will probably only draw thieves' attention.
Try to park in busy, well-lit areas. Try to park in well-traveled areas. Large anonymous lots, like malls, are hit by thieves much more often than parking immediately adjacent to residential housing or other occupied buildings. Remember, day or night, "picking" your parking spot is easier said than done but try to choose a well-lit, visible, parking spot where there is lots of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Auto-burglars prefer breaking into cars where they will not be observed, and choose their targets accordingly.
Lock ALL your vehicle's doors even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time. Every year, there are items stolen from unlocked vehicles where the owner was only going to be gone "just for a second". It only takes seconds to steal your stuff! It's not at all uncommon for thieves to walk down a row of parked vehicles and check vehicle doors to see if they are unlocked. Don't leave any window open or even cracked open, including vent/wing windows and sunroofs.
Set any alarm or anti-theft device. If you have one, use it! Many people believe that car-alarms no longer make a difference, but they can be an effective deterrent to an auto-burglar, who most often chooses the easiest target.
Locking your car and setting your alarm is just part of the solution. Even if locked and alarmed, if you leave valuables or the hint of valuables in plain sight, a thief may target your car even knowing it's locked and alarmed. However, without a clear prize in sight, a locked/alarmed car will likely be bypassed for an easier "target of opportunity".
Don't think your dark tinted windows will hide your valuables. Thieves often use flashlights to see through tint, and after-market tint is handy to keep all the broken glass in one "sheet" when they break out your window.
What are the most commonly stolen items from vehicles?
Backpacks, gym bags, briefcases, day-planners
Cash/coins, checkbooks and credit/debit cards
Wallets and purses (even when hidden under a seat or in an unlocked glove compartment)
Laptop computers, iPods and MP3 players, (and docking stations)
Cell phones (and chargers)
Portable GPS navigation systems
Stereo/CD players (and faceplates), amps, speakers (even when bolted down!)
Jewelry, keys, mail (identity theft), tools
Anything of obvious value
What to do if something is stolen out of your car
As soon as you notice something's stolen (or that your car has been broken into) do not touch/adjust anything in, on, or around the car. As soon as possible, call the police to report the incident.
Report Suspicious Activity
If you see suspicious activity, report it to TPD at 831-4552.
"Suspicious Activity" would include:
Person(s) 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.
Person(s) sitting in running parked cars for protracted periods, and vehicles dropping one person off while continuing to cruise the same area. We'd prefer to check on an innocent citizen going about their business than to not check and end up taking a theft-from-a-vehicle report.
If you have questions concerning vehicle burglaries or other crimes, please contact the Tracy Police Department at 831-4550. Should you need to report an in-progress crime, please call 831-4552, or 911.