Published: July 09, 2008 07:56 am            

‘Watch Your Car’: Lock your vehicle. Take your keys. Hide your belongings

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

A vehicle is stolen in Texas every five minutes. Vehicles are burglarized for parts or for their contents at a rate more than double that; once every two minutes. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, more Texas vehicles are stolen or burglarized during the months of July and August than at any other time of the year.

It is with that fact in mind July has been named “Watch Your Car” month throughout Texas. Auto theft is often a crime of opportunity, so authorities hope a little education will help citizens reduce their risk of becoming a victim.

Tips to help prevent automobile theft include always locking the doors, using an anti-theft device like a steering wheel lock and hiding all valuables and packages out of sight.

Don’t leave your car empty and running, even for a short time; don’t park in unlighted or isolated areas and never leave your keys in the vehicle.

“During the summer months, auto thieves target vacationers who are away from home and leave vehicles parked in unprotected areas, often with windows rolled down and doors unlocked.” said DPS Motor Vehicle Theft Service Commander David Griffith. “We also believe that motor vehicle theft increases during the summer because out-of-school students are involved in stealing vehicles.”

According to the Texas Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority, a division of the Texas Department of Transportation, about 94,000 vehicles were stolen in Texas during 2007, resulting in estimated financial losses reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars. In almost half of all reported Texas auto theft incidents, the keys were left inside the vehicle at the time of the crime.

“We can not stress enough to Texas drivers that they ‘hold the key’ to auto burglary and theft prevention,” said Michelle Lanham, program manager for ABTPA’s Reduce Auto Theft in Texas (RATT) task force. “Being aware of techniques to prevent these crimes, such as utilizing visible deterrents and anti-theft devices, will help discourage thieves and make neighborhoods safer.”

ABTPA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1991 to fund programs designed to reduce car thefts. Since its inception, the vehicle theft rate in the state has decreased by 59 percent.

Detective Daniel Franklin of the Jacksonville Police Department reports that auto thefts are a rare occurrence in town, but that vehicle burglaries happen here all too often.

“It’s not very often that cars get stolen in Jacksonville, and when it does happen it’s usually just a joyride situation. We had three of those happen in the last couple months, and they were all recovered later. We haven’t had any plain-Jane car thefts in a while,” he said. “But we do have a lot of vehicle burglaries, particularly at this time of year. For the most part it’s just people seeing a bag or a purse on the floorboard, and they will either open the unlocked door or break the window to grab it.”

Franklin said people don’t steal hubcaps or stereo equipment as much as they used to because pawn shops are refusing to buy property that has likely been stolen. While the smash-and-grab has become the preferred method of car burglars, Franklin said too many people are making it even easier for thieves; by removing the smash step from the process.

“We see it all the time — people leaving their purse on the front seat, the keys in it and the doors unlocked. You’ve got to realize that Jacksonville is not a huge city, but we still have a crime rate here. You can’t leave something like that unsecured; you’ve got to know to take your keys out of your car and to lock your doors,” he said.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.