East Lancashire motorists warned not to leave valuables in cars (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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East Lancashire motorists warned not to leave valuables in cars
10:00am Saturday 29th September 2012 in News
MOTORISTS in East Lancashire are being urged not leave property on display in their cars after a series of thefts.
The warning comes after a spate of thefts from Haslingden and Rawtenstall in which thieves have deliberately targeted insecure cars.
Patrols have been stepped up in the affected areas.
Officers said almost half of the incidents they are investigating involve unlocked cars.
Detective Inspector Jes Holland said that despite the latest spate of thefts, overall car crime in the area remained low.
He said: “Having your car broken into can be costly and inconvenient but the chance of it happening can be significantly reduced if people simply make sure their vehicle is locked and remove valuables from display.
“The number of car break-ins reported to us remains quite low and we carry out regular targeted patrols to deter thieves.
“However, almost 50 per cent of all theft from cars in Rossendale last month happened as a result of people leaving their cars unlocked and in many cases, with expensive items including sat navs, mobile phones and lap tops on display.”
DI Holland added that, in some cases, it only takes a matter of minutes for theives to strike.
He said: “Even if you are only popping into a shop, don’t leave items on display. You may think that the few pence you’ve left out isn’t worth taking but anything can prove to be temptation.
“If a thief sees something that may be of value they will take their chances, especially if you have made it easy for them by leaving your vehicle unlocked.
“Remove valuables from the car and get rid of any signs - such as suction marks on the windscreen or MP3 cables - or a thief may assume you have stored them in the glove box.”
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Comments (2)
1:08pm Sat 29 Sep 12
2 for 5p says...
What kind of idiot leaves valubles on show in there car
4:17pm Sat 29 Sep 12
Benjis mum says...
Until that happens then we have to do as suggested and keep our stuff out of sight and well secured.
That way its making it more inconvenient for the thief, even though it does cause us more inconvenience too, by having to lock and unlock the car each time we pop into a shop for 2 minutes.