Leave it and you may lose it!!
Don’t let yourself become a victim to property crime relating to your vehicle…
The Hamilton Police Service has seen a considerable increase in the number of reported incidents involving thefts from vehicles, vehicle thefts and residential break and enters associated to these thefts in recent months. Although these incidents occur all year round, the Hamilton Police Service is reporting that due to the warmer weather more vehicles are being entered and in some cases stolen directly from the owner’s driveways.
In most cases these thefts can be prevented by simply locking your vehicles doors, removing all valuables and or placing them out of sight. The Police are seeing items such as GPS’, cell phones, wallets, purses, laptops, sporting equipment, etc being left in plain view for these criminals to take.
This is a crime of opportunity; for the most part vehicles are not targeted rather than the area itself. These criminals will flood an area whether it is a residential area or large parking lot in search for unlocked vehicles. Once one is located, the suspect will rummage through taking anything of value usually leaving the vehicle in disarray only to be found entered by the owner upon returning to their vehicle. In some cases, the suspects will observed valuables in plain sight in a locked vehicle and will forcibly enter that vehicle to obtain those items causing serious damage to the door locks, glass and door frames.
The Hamilton Police are actively participating in the “LOCK IT OR LOSE IT” campaign which is a province wide crime-prevention campaign established by the Ontario Provincial Police and adopted by numerous Police services throughout Ontario. Police personal and volunteers will attend an area and will conduct a search for vehicles which fail to be secured and or valuables left in the open within the vehicle. Pamphlets similar to a flyer are then left on every vehicle which is checked indicating whether your vehicle passed or failed the inspection and also includes some tips on how to better protect your vehicle and its contents.
Whether you live in a rural area, built up residential area or just visiting the shopping malls, PLEASE remember to always lock your vehicle, take all valuables with you or place them out of sight. Let’s all do our part to prevent this serious crime from happening with these simple steps.
For any inquiries please contact the Hamilton Police Service crime prevention office at 905-546-4903.
If you know of somebody who is participating in these types of crimes but want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.crimestoppershamilton.com
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