It’s easy to deter thieves from stealing from cars, but Okotoks RCMP have discovered some residents aren’t taking the simplest step to prevent this type of petty crime.
RCMP went out over two nights earlier this month around 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. to see how many vehicles across the community were left unlocked overnight on streets around the community.
Of the 364 vehicles checked, RCMP found 14 per cent were left unlocked. The number varied in different parts of town, but in some neighbourhoods as many as 19 per cent of the vehicles checked were unlocked.
“It was surprising for us to be able to find that many doors unlocked just walking down the street,” said Okotoks RCMP Const. Mark Gander.
Police investigations reveal most cases of theft from vehicles happen when they are left unlocked.
“It’s one of those things where if the vehicle’s locked, a lot of times thieves aren’t going to break a window because they’re going to draw attention to themselves,” said Gander. “It’s an easy target to walk around, check a bunch of door handles and if it opens up, go through it.”
Gander encourages people to remove all valuables from their vehicles, including personal documents to prevent identity theft.
RCMP left handouts created by the Alberta Motor Association stating “all valuables removed” to raise awareness of removing valuable items and locking car doors. The handouts are also available at the Okotoks RCMP detachment for anyone to pick up and put in their own vehicles to let thieves know to move on. What was just as surprising as the number of vehicles left unlocked for Gander, was that no one confronted RCMP constables as they were checking for unlocked doors.
“No one approached us, no one saw us, we didn’t get any calls about it,” he said. “Obviously we’re quite identifiable as police officers, but it was quite alarming to me specifically.”
Gander encouraged people to be another set of eyes and ears for police in the community and report anyone seen prowling through cars in town or any other suspicious activity.
“The first step is locking vehicles and the second step would be keeping an eye out and calling in anything that might be suspicious so we can catch someone in the act if that’s the case,” he said.
Anyone with information regarding theft from vehicles or any other crime is asked to contact the Okotoks RCMP detachment at 403-995-6400 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
