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North Reading Police
Citizen Advisory
“Car Prowls Are on the Rise”
Question: What is a
car prowl?
Answer: A car prowl
occurs when a person breaks into a
vehicle in order to steal its contents. Very often, car prowlers
are people with significant substance abuse problems who steal to
support their habit. As they walk by cars, they spy small amounts
of change, sunglasses, cell phones, mail, gym bags, compact discs,
and any other valuable or potentially valuable item. Knowing they
can sell, trade, or pawn the items, or use them for identity theft,
they cause expensive damage to vehicles to obtain these items.
Question: When and where do
these crimes occur?
Answer: Car prowls occur
mostly at night and in the early morning hours while residents are
home and sleeping. Thieves will target vehicles left that are in
driveways, inside open car garages, and parked on the street.
Question: How bad is the
car prowl problem?
Answer: This community has
suffered a substantial amount of car prowl type vehicle breaks in
the past several years. According to NRPD crime statistics, there
has been a reported seventy-seven occurrences over the past two
years. Unfortunately, many of these crimes go unreported to the
police. In addition to losses incurred by theft, thieves often cause
extensive damage to the victim’s vehicle, i.e. broken windows,
damaged vehicle bodies etc.
Question: How is a car
prowl committed?
Answer: Thieves will actively
search a neighborhood for vehicles that have valuable items left in
plain view. Upon location of these items, they will attempt to open
unlocked doors or if necessary smash the vehicle’s windows to gain
access.
Question: What types of
items do thieves take?
Answer: Common items include:
cell phones, iPods, cameras, purses, wallets, cash, sunglasses, lap
top computers and generally anything of value is at risk of being
stolen by thieves. Included with these items and potentially more
devastating is the loss of personal information that could be used
to steal your identity and cause even greater losses to victims.
Question: How can you avoid
becoming a victim?
Answer:
1) Lock it up! Keep
your windows rolled up and your doors locked whenever you leave your
vehicle. If you have a security system on your vehicle, make sure it
is operating properly. Remove your garage opener to keep thieves
from entering your home.
2) Park it Wisely!
If you don't have a garage, park your vehicle in your driveway or a
place where you can keep an eye on it. Park in well lighted spots so
you can see your vehicle.
3) Operation ID
Keep records of the serial numbers on all of your valuable items.
This will help police identify the owner in the event the property
is located. Serial numbers, if provided, can be entered into a
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, which allows
police departments nationwide to identify your stolen property, if
recovered.
4) Use the Garage!
The safest place for your vehicle is in the garage. If you have a
garage, keep your vehicle parked and locked inside the garage. Don't
forget to close and lock the garage doors.
5) Clean it out!
Remove all loose objects from your vehicle such as clothing, purses,
wallets, computer or cellular phone. These items only serve to make
your vehicle a more attractive target for thieves.
6) Light it up!
Consider replacing the light fixture closest to your car with a
motion detector unit. Motion detectors are good psychological
deterrents since the normal assumption of a person seeing a light
come on is that someone has seen them. Additionally, the light makes
the prowler or thief more visible.
6) Neighborhood
Watch Contact the North Reading Police and learn how to
organize a Neighborhood Watch. Neighborhood Watch groups have a
significant effect on reducing burglaries and car prowls in
neighborhoods.
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