It's a sad sign of the economic times, but theft of items from vehicles is an increasingly common crime in Dearborn. Police officials want to remind residents it can be prevented with a little common sense.Dearborn Police are urging motorists to keep valuables out of sight whenever leaving their vehicles. Lock them up in the trunk or stow them in the glove compartment. Also, be sure to keep your vehicle locked at all times.
Another crime that is emerging in neighboring communities involves thieves breaking into a vehicle and stealing the victim's garage door opener, along with the vehicle registration or GPS unit. Using the registration or GPS unit to identify the owner’s home address, the thieves then go to the home and gain entry by using the garage door opener.
Residents should consider adding garage door openers to the list of items kept out of plain sight in their vehicles. Some recommend removing the garage door opener altogether, as well as taking anything with your address on it whenever leaving your vehicle.
The Dearborn Police Department has increased patrols in neighborhoods and stepped up the use of plainclothes surveillance officers (the latter being funded by a grant award). These measures, along with Dearborn’s Neighborhood Watch program, have helped deter vehicle larcenies and led to the arrest of suspected thieves throughout the city.
If you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, call the Neighborhood Watch program at 943-3030.
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Yes instead of breaking into vehicles in Dearborn they are invading houses and holding the residents hostage.
ReplyDeleteWe recommend citizens stay out of plain sight too. Now where's my bullett?
ReplyDeletePolice are warning and ticketing people who are leaving their cars running in their driveways; yet at least one empty squad car has been spotted with its engine running outside of a local restaurant.
ReplyDeleteHmmm..if I was a criminal, would I rather steal a police car or a Focus?
Police are really ticketing people for leaving their cars running in the driveway? What kind of offense is that? Or is it a warning?
ReplyDeleteThis is true--the idea being that a car thief could easily come along and steal your vehicle when the keys are in it. But, it has been a real sore point winter because it has been so cold. People parked in their driveways and the street while warming up their cars have been warned and ticketed. And what about those with automatic starters? The cases I know of personally have been on the east side of town.
ReplyDeleteI have the same sympathy for people who leave their keys in their car as I do for those idiot ice fisherman who get stranded on a floe in the middle of March. You get what you ask for.
ReplyDeleteThe people I know who were cited/ticketed simply left their cars running for a few minutes to WARM UP THE ENGINES on sub-freezing winter mornings before heading to their jobs. The cars were locked. And the cars actually were registered in their names, unlike many of their neighbors, so they were easy pickings for the traffic cops.
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