Don’t Become a Victim
Help Stop Burglary
You Can Make A Difference
Altadena Sheriff Station has noticed a upswing in property related crimes
in the area (Residential Burglary and Vehicle Burglary).
Auto Burglary, like all crime prevention involves limiting the criminal’s
ability and opportunity to commit the crime. With very little time and
effort, you can make a huge difference in your vulnerability to vehicle
burglary.
The thieves walking or driving around your neighborhoods are looking for
vehicles with unlocked doors and unsecured windows. They are looking for
vehicles that have valuables in plain sight. It is fast and easy to smash
open a window and take valuable items lying in plain sight within a
vehicle. It is even easier if that vehicle is left unlocked.
Some simple tips to help stop vehicle burglaries:
Don’t leave valuables in your car. That sounds like “common sense”, but
drivers/passengers do leave items of value in plain sight every day. If
you leave valuable items visible in your car, your car is automatically a
target for thieves.
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
devices, cell phones, MP3 players, and so forth. Someone will 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.
Lock ALL your vehicle’s doors even if you plan to be gone for only a
brief time. Every year, we have 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 cars and check vehicle doors to see if they are
unlocked. Don’t leave any window open or even cracked open, including
vent/wind windows and sunroofs.
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
any item may end up costing you hundreds of dollars to replace a broken
window because a thief wanted to check your car for “hidden” valuables.
Very few auto break-ins are “random” - the thieves see “something” that
leads them to believe there is something of value in your car.
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. If they had to choose from, one with an alarm and one
without, they will likely burglarize the one without (unless you’ve left
out valuables just too good to ignore!) And don’t think that your dark
tinted windows will hide your valuables. Thieves often use flashlights to
see through tint, after-market tint is handy to keep all the broken glass
in one “sheet” when they break out your window (and toss the broken
window into your backseat to hide it from passersby).
Try to park in busy, well-lighted areas.
Record the serial numbers of any items you regularly have in your
vehicle.
How can vehicle burglary lead to a Residential Burglary?
Vehicle Registration—Black out the address on your registration and
photocopy it. Keep the copy, not the original in your car. Keep the one
with the address with you.
Mail—Do not leave outgoing or incoming mail in your car, especially where
visible.
Garage Door Opener—Avoid leaving this in your car if possible. If you
must, remove it from sight.
Keys—Never leave keys in your car!
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 Altadena Sheriff’s Station to report the
incident at 626-798-1131. Also report ANY suspicious activities, persons
or vehicles. Deputies cannot be everywhere, and we count on good people
to be our “eyes and ears” and report suspicious activities as they are
occurring. Do your part by taking preventive action and spreading the
word. If you see something suspicious say something and report it
immediately to the Altadena Sheriff's Station.
Stay contacted with your local Sheriff:
Visit the Altadena Sheriff's Station Web Page:
http://www.altadena.lasd.org
Follow Altadena Nixle:
http://local.nixle.com/lasd---altadena-station-los-angeles-county-sheriff/
Follow Altadena Twitter:
http://twitter.com/@lasdald
Follow Captain Benedict's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/@jblasd
Like the Altadena Sheriff's Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/AltadenaSheriffsStation
Make safety a habit.
Lock your car at all times.
Remove valuable items.
Create a Crime Watch group.
For emergencies, call 911
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