Former California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer Kevin Kelly views auto theft as "a crime of opportunity" and advises consumers to protect their vehicles by making it "inconvenient" for a miscreant to steal your car.
Kelly, a former CHP sergeant, headed up the CHP's vehicle-theft recovery unit in the Bay Area from 1985 to 1992, and he uses his experience from that as the California State Automobile Association's (CSAA) traffic-safety specialist whose duties include conducting classes and seminars on preventing car theft. "It's a crime of opportunity. I teach them basics such as the importance of locking car doors before walking away," says Kelly, who works out of CSAA headquarters in San Francisco.
Kelly says that a staple of what he teaches is "to make it as inconvenient as possible for a thief to take your car. Thieves walk down the street or cruise neighborhoods in their own cars looking for easy targets." For example, Kelly cites "unoccupied vehicles with windows rolled down, unlocked doors, and/or keys left in the ignition."
Drawing on his CHP experience, Kelly recalls that he "worked the street for 25 years and saw questionable actions of car owners, such as leaving keys in the ignition then running to the gas station pay window to pay for gasoline. Thieves tend to observe impulsive, ill-conceived actions like that, and they can steal a car with a full tank of gas. I've also seen people start up their cars in their driveways, rush back inside the house to take care of something, and then they come back out to find out that their car is gone."
"Motorists driving theft-prone vehicles need to take steps such as installing a visible deterrent like a steering wheel lock, an alarm, a starter or fuel disabler and a tracking device," says Robert M. Bryant, president and chief executive officer of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which publishes reports on vehicle theft. "The more layers of protection on your vehicle, the more difficult it is to steal," says Bryant.
Alliance of American Insurers executive Kirk Hansen says, "Simple, common sense measures can help thwart car thieves, such as parking your car in only well-lighted areas and not leaving your car motor running when you race into a video-rental establishment to return a movie."
Kelly offers several do's and don'ts aimed at preventing car theft.
- Check your car to be sure that you walk away with all documents containing your name and address or other personal information. That's valuable data that could be stolen by car thieves who might use that information to steal your identity and open checking or credit accounts in your name and stick you with bills in the thousands of dollars for ill-gotten purchases.
- Close windows and sunroofs when parking your car.
- Park on a well-lighted street when possible.
- Remember that your car is safer parked in your locked garage than in your driveway, but your vehicle is safer in your driveway than on the street.
- Buy effective car-theft deterrents such as car alarms and The Club, but don't forget that anti-theft devices are no substitute for two of the precautionary basics: rolling up car windows and locking vehicle doors and sunroofs.
- Do not hide a spare key inside your car. "Car thieves know where to look for spare keys. Instead, it might be wise to carry a spare car key in your purse or wallet."
- Do not store car registration or pink slips in the vehicle's glove compartment. "It makes better sense to keep such valuable documents in your possession."
- Do not leave mail or other items in plain sight in your car either on the seats or on the floor. "It doesn't take much to tempt some car thieves."
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