 
The Good, The Bad, And The Uniformed By Frank Fourchalk
There's some bad advice circulating around our community regarding leaving vehicles open in secured parking areas. The logic being, a thief won't damage your vehicle if he or she decides to break-in. Where did this irrational logic originate from? My guess would be the thieves themselves.
Talk about giving the advantage to the bad guys. What's next, leaving doors and windows open so burglars can stroll through our homes, steal our belongings and leave without any signs of forcible entry. If you are of the mindset leaving your vehicle open will save lock replacement costs consider yourself forewarned.
You will be hopping a bus sooner than you think while your wheels are transported overseas or sitting in a chop shop ready for dissection. Are we becoming so frustrated with reoccurring auto break-ins that we're resorting to leaving our second largest investment open to a thief?
It appears we're taking two steps back with this "open door" logic. Our police departments are working hard to keep the auto crime numbers down and the least we can do is lock our vehicles whether in a secured parking area or not.
Keep in mind, there are two types of auto thieves targeting underground parking areas. The "car thief" is looking to steal your car while the "goods thief" is only after what's inside the vehicle. Stats show thefts from vehicles greatly outnumber thefts of vehicles.
So with this in mind, don't leave anything on display for the "goods thief". Nothing grabs these "window shoppers" attention faster than a laptop, phone, bag, CD or even a few cents laying on the console. It's an opportunity they can't resist.
Eliminate "opportunity" by taking your property with you and make sure you lock your vehicle. You may also want to invest in an immobilizer. This is still the best way to prevent a vehicle from being stolen. Thieves also like to target those fancy alloy wheels and tires, so make sure you purchase locking wheel nuts to prevent having your car jacked up and it's tires removed.
Inexpensive and easy to install steering wheel and gear lever locks are a great deterrent to the auto thief and should be installed in your vehicle. And don't forget to etch your vehicles registration number onto all glass surfaces as well.
These precautions coupled with stiffer laws for convicted criminals would surely make a difference. We should also introduce different crime fighting options to the public in order to help irradiate auto violations. Perhaps if we used a product called,"SmartWater" we might be able to cut down on the home and auto break-ins that are so prevalent in our community.
"SmartWater" can be painted onto any property which may be targeted by thieves. Once the thief touches the marked property, it leaves an invisible mark on their skin and clothes that lasts for months. This liquid product contains a DNA code specific to the purchaser that can only be detected with an ultraviolet light.
Police departments in the U.K. are finding this crime fighting product very effective in charging and convicting criminals.
Upload date:
March 31, 2009 8:54 AM
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