How to Prevent Vehicle Burglaries

Park close to your destination to help deter burglaries.

Vehicle burglary is a common crime that happens in big cities, small towns and rural areas. A vehicle burglary is when a person illegally enters a vehicle he does not own with the intent to commit another crime, usually theft. Because of the relative ease and opportunity, vehicle burglaries happen much more often than home or business burglaries. Take these key steps to make your vehicle less of a target and reduce your risk of becoming a victim of vehicle burglary.

Instructions

1. Lock your vehicle. It may seem obvious, but locking your vehicle can be a major deterrent to burglary. The Manhattan Beach, California website reports that in the first quarter of 2008, 38 percent of vehicle burglaries reported there happened to unlocked cars. Criminals commonly walk through a parking lot checking car doors to find one that is unlocked or that has a window not fully closed. Take care when putting an electronic key-fob into a pocket or purse. The unlock button is sometimes inadvertently pushed, unlocking your car as you walk away from it. If your vehicle is equipped with a built-in alarm system, activate it when you park your vehicle.

2. Secure your belongings. Vehicle burglary is often a crime of opportunity. Valuables left inside a vehicle in plain sight serve as an open invitation to burglars. Avoid leaving valuables or belongings unattended in your vehicle. If you have a stereo system with a removable face, take it with you when you leave your car. If it's not feasible to take all of your belongings with you, lock them in a glove compartment, trunk or somewhere unseen through the windows of the vehicle. Pick-up trucks and SUVs are common burglary targets because they don't have traditional trunks in which to lock valuables. Burglars are aware of this and know that these vehicles have a limited number of lockable hiding places for valuables.

3. Park your vehicle wisely. If you have a garage, park your vehicle in it and lock the car and the garage. If you don't have a garage, park in the driveway and consider installing motion activated lighting on your house. When away from home, choose well-lit parking spaces as near to your destination as possible. Parking your vehicle at the far end of a parking lot to avoid damage from shopping carts or dings from the doors of other vehicles makes your car more appealing to burglars.

4. Be aware of your surroundings. A growing trend among vehicle burglars is the "follow-away" burglary. Reported from California to Georgia, these types of crimes involve burglars who will stake out an Apple store or other appliance or high tech retailer, watching for customers leaving with purchases of computers and other electronics. The burglars then follow the soon-to-be victim, and if they drive to another shopping and leave the electronics unattended in their vehicle, the burglar moves in, breaks into the vehicle and steals the electronic and other valuables. When you have to make multiple stops on a shopping trip, be alert to who is around when you put your purchases into your vehicle. Pay attention to people walking aimlessly through parking lots looking into car windows. If you're hiding valuables in your vehicle, before exiting the car to go into a shop, do so as unobtrusively as possible and be aware of who may be watching you. These people may be waiting for you to leave your vehicle unattended so that they can steal what you have left behind.

References

• Justia.com: Criminal Law -- 1700 Burglary
• Plainsboro On Watch: How To Prevent Auto Burglary
• City of Manhattan Beach; Prevent Vehicle Burglary; May 2008
• University of Oklahoma: The Police Notebook: Campus Auto-Burglary Prevention Information
• "The Daily Tribune"; Local Man Victim of "Follow-Away" Auto Burglary; Brande Poulnot; August 2010