by Jack Lee
This is the time of year when car burglaries are very popular. The bad weather and late night hours provide good cover and crooks take advantage of this. So, a word to the wise, be sure to remove all valuables from your vehicles and then lock it.
The typical MO for a car burglar (usually aged 14-21) is to walk into a nicer, upscale, neighborhood with his vehicle parked a block or two away or he only lives a few blocks away. It’s usually mid-week, more chances you’ll be sound asleep, its cold, windy or rainy and between 1 a.m. and 3 a. m. For him, it’s a simple matter of trying door handles on cars until he finds one unlocked. He then opens the door, uses his foot to turn off the inside light button located in the door jam and rifles through the console and glove box looking mostly for cash and items easy to fence. It only take a matter of 30-45 seconds and he is gone. A locked vehicle with an alarm is a great deterent, but its not fool proof either. So the best advice is don’t leave valuables in your vehicle.
Vehicle burglary is a felony, however police generally don’t investigate unless there is ID, a weapon, or a grand theft involved. There are simply too many of these crimes and they don’t have the time to come out and investigate every theft from a vehicle. Thieves know this and they count on a lack of police follow up to continue their criminal career, often hitting hundreds of vehicles before they are caught.