Dear Fellow Montgomery County residents,
In 1997, the Dallas Police Department launched the campaign that has evolved into “HIDE, LOCK, TAKE” and spread statewide, encouraging people to take measures to prevent automobile burglaries. The same advice applies here and is especially relevant this time of year.
“LOCK your car” is the second part of the message that recommends locking your vehicle every time you leave it unattended. “TAKE your keys” is the third part of the message, and the two suggestions are made with good reason. Television shows and movies tend to show car thieves breaking a window then hot-wiring the vehicle, but according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, 20 percent of the 100,000 vehicles stolen in Texas every year had the keys left inside and nearly half were also unlocked.
Locking the vehicle and taking the keys is important not only when going into large department stores or restaurants, but also convenience stores and other places where you can be in and out quickly. Many vehicles are stolen at gas pumps and, at this time of year, when people start the vehicle and go back inside to let it warm up.
It only takes seconds to open a vehicle’s door and take the vehicle or whatever is inside. Locked vehicles are also burglarized and stolen, but for the most part burglary of a motor vehicle is a crime of opportunity and an unlocked vehicle is an open invitation because the thief attracts little or no attention. It also makes it easier for a car thief to go unnoticed until it is too late, even in a busy parking lot.
