Auto Burglary Prevention.
Auto Burglary – The theft of property from a vehicle.
When
you leave your vehicle parked somewhere you want to find it there when
you return. But not only that, you want it left untouched.
You don’t
want to find that it has been broken into and your possessions have been
stolen.
You had to work hard for your valued items, you do not want the
expense of having to replace them.
Not only that, thieves can do an
awful lot of damage to your automobile when breaking into it.
Unfortunately vehicles get burgled all the time.
Is there anything you can do to prevent it happening to you?
Although
you cannot completely eliminate the risk, there is plenty you can do to
greatly reduce it, and it’s mostly good old fashion common sense . . .
Auto Burglary Prevention – Lock It!
Lock it. Your automobile has locks – use them.
You may be
saying to yourself that you lock your car when you leave it, but do you
lock it every time? Even if just dashing out of your car and into the
convenience store?
It’ll only take a minute, why go to the bother
of locking up? Because if you don’t go to the bother, the lucky auto
burglar who just happened to observe what you did, will take his
opportunity. Open the door, reach in your car, help himself and he is
away before you are back out of the store.
Might not just be your
stuff that goes missing from your vehicle. You might come out of the
store to see your vehicle disappearing down the road.
Lock it each time you leave it, even if just for a minute.
Don’t forget your windows, close them all the way every time.
Park Wisely.
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You can do an awful lot to reduce the risk of suffering an auto burglary by choosing where you park wisely. If parking at a store, choose a spot as close to the store entrance as possible, there are likely to be more people around. If there are security cameras, park within the area they cover. Park somewhere well lit. More parking safety tips here – Parking Lot Security. |
Auto Burglary Prevention – Take It With You!
Don’t leave your possessions in your vehicle – take them with you. Leave
stuff in your car and you run the risk of them being stolen, it’s a
fact.
If your car entertainment is the removable face type, take the face with you.
Take your cell phone, iPad, laptop, purse, wallet, GPS unit, backpack, briefcase, DVD/CDs, items of clothing, packages.
Don’t think that thieves will only break into your automobile to steal high value items, they will steal anything, even the change you leave in a cup on your dashboard!
If you leave it – and they can see it – that makes your vehicle worth breaking in to.
Avoid
leaving any documents, or correspondence, that contains any personal
information. If that falls into the wrong hands, you could find yourself
the victim of Identity Theft.
Keep your vehicle registration with you, do not leave it in your vehicle.
If it it really is not possible to take a particular item with you, then do not leave it on show.
Do not make
the mistake of just covering it up. Items left on seats or in
foot-wells, covered over with a blanket or something, are a magnet to
thieves. They reason that whatever it is must be of some value for you
to cover it up.
Lock It In The Trunk.
Your possessions are out of sight in the trunk. You are far less likely
to be a victim of auto burglary.
Sure, a thief could bust open your
trunk on speculation that there is something in there that interests
him, but he would rather not do that.
He will look for a vehicle where
he can see the goodies, where he knows he wont be wasting his time,
where he knows there is reward for taking a risk.
If you park somewhere and get out of your car then deposit some items
in your trunk, it’s obvious to any watching thief what you have done.
You walk away and go to your business meeting, or to the gym or
wherever, you will be some time. Lucky car burglar, he has a perfect
target.
Stop somewhere on the way to wherever it is you will park, transfer your items to the trunk there.
When
you get to your destination, park – lock up – and leave. You will not
be giving any clue that there is something in your vehicle worth
stealing.
If you drive an SUV then of course you can’t lock
anything away in the trunk. You really have no option but to take stuff
with you when you park up, or leave your valuables at home.
Brute Force Auto Burglary.
How many opportunity thieves use any sort of skill to break into cars? Most just use brute force.
The
brute force could be something as simple as smashing a window. Sure it
makes a noise, attracts attention and makes it obvious that an auto
burglary is going on.
But if the circumstances are right, the automobile is parked in a
deserted spot, a thief will do it.
Even if there are some members of the
public around, desperate opportunistic auto burglars will quickly smash, grab and run.
Better
locks are now being fitted to new automobiles. Few thieves have a set
of duplicate keys or the skills to pick good locks. That does not mean
that they will not attack the locks, it means they will try brute force.
The
result could mean that to steal something worth a hundred bucks or less
that you left on display in your car, the thieves will do some very
expensive damage.
Having the locks replaced can cost you plenty,
but it might be worse than that, the damage may mean that you have to
have your doors replaced, ouch!
An auto burglary can cost you plenty and not just your property that gets stolen. Don’t leave it on display!
Auto Burglary Prevention – Use Your Alarm.
If your automobile is fitted with an alarm use it. While noise only
alarms have lost a lot of their effectiveness because people ignore
them, they can help to reduce the chance of your vehicle being the
target of auto burglary.
If you were a thief would you target a
vehicle with a alarm? Likely not, unless you knew that vehicle contained
expensive items, or the vehicle was parked somewhere remote without
much chance of human traffic.
Thieves prefer to target automobiles that
are less likely to cause them problems.
If a criminal does set off an alarm while trying to break into a car he will probably abort the attempt. Two Way Pager Alarms are a better bet than noise only alarms. With a two way alarm you are alerted if your vehicle is being tampered with.
Auto Burglary Outside Your Home.
Been on a shopping trip? Don’t park up outside your home, carry in
some of your bags or packages and leave your vehicle open intending to
return for the rest of your shopping.
It’s a little bothersome, but just
unload what you can carry easily, lock up take those packages inside and return for the rest.
If
you leave your car unlocked, while you carry your shopping inside, it’s
too easy to become side tracked by a phone call, or something else that
grabs your attention. Before you know it you have given a thief an
opportunity to snatch the rest of your shopping, you don’t want that
even if it’s only groceries.
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Vehicle Security
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Auto Burglary Prevention.
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