LOCK YOUR CAR! TAKE YOUR KEYS! HIDE YOUR THINGS!

One of the most frequent reports we take are those regarding vehicle burglaries. Vehicle burglaries can cost victims hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Typically, the person or people who commit these crimes are looking for the easiest targets and can burglarize several vehicles in a short time. Often these suspects are not caught because they are only in the vehicle for a few seconds and leave very little to no evidence.

Vehicle burglary is a crime of opportunity, and there are things you can do to reduce your likelihood of becoming a victim. If you cannot secure your vehicle in a closed garage, we suggest you illuminate the area where your vehicle is parked. Remove all items of value from the vehicle and keep all other items out of plain view. Make sure to remove your keys from the vehicle and please lock the doors and roll up all of the windows. These few steps and an extra few seconds can save you money and significant heartache.

VEHICLE BURGLARIES ARE ON THE RISE

VEHICLE BURGLARY STATISTICS REPORTED IN ROY DURING THE 90-DAY PERIOD BETWEEN MAY 1, 2020 AND JULY 31, 2020:

40 vehicle burglaries reported.

32 of the targeted vehicles were not locked.

The remaining eight vehicles were reported as locked, and of those, four had no signs of forced entry.

During this same time period, 10 vehicle thefts were reported in Roy, and keys were reported as being left inside the vehicle in five of the vehicles that were stolen.

It is likely that 80% of these vehicle burglaries were preventable, and half of the vehicle thefts were also preventable.