Shoppers urged to secure autos during holidays
Last year, thieves burglarized more than 262,000 vehicles and stole more than 94,000 outright, according to officials with the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority.
About half of those crimes were committed after car owners left their doors unlocked. Thieves regularly patrol parking lots at stores and shopping malls looking for easy targets, said Charles Caldwell, director of the authority.
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, thieves have an even greater opportunity to strike, he added.
“We want everyone to enjoy the holiday season and not experience the violation and frustration of having their vehicles burglarized or stolen,” Caldwell said in a prepared release. “We encourage all vehicle owners and operators to help prevent such crimes from happening by practicing simple theft-prevention measures.”
In Marble Falls, the majority of local vehicle burglaries involve unlocked autos, according to police Capt. Floyd Goodwin.
“Ninety-eight percent of our burglaries here are on unlocked vehicles or vehicles where people have kept their valuables in plain sight or in the bed of a pickup,” Goodwin said. “With those pickups, a lot of time people don’t pay attention, and don’t realize they’ve been victimized until they get home. By that time, there’s no way for us to know where the item was stolen from.”
When vehicles are burglarized, thieves have easy access to anything left inside, including house keys, personal information and valuables, which Caldwell said could lead to more serious crimes such as identity theft or home burglaries.
“We know that burglars scout mall and other large parking lots, waiting for the opportunity to break into a vehicle,” said Lori Driver of the Travis County Sheriff’s Combined Auto Theft Task Force. “Texas drivers need to understand careless actions with vehicles and items left inside actually help auto burglars and thieves do their job better.”
Driver said vehicle owners can help prevent thefts by locking their vehicle’s doors and keeping valuables out of sight.
Goodwin said those tips are applicable all year.
“We don’t see a real spike in burglaries around the holidays, but our levels stay pretty static year ’round,” Goodwin said. “It’s a crime of opportunity that’s largely preventable if you lock your doors and hide your valuables.”
For more information on preventing vehicle burglary, visit www.txwatchyourcar.com.
chris@thepicayune.com