Who is the Auto Thief?
He's probably less than 20 years old; chances are about 60% that he's less than 18. And 13 and 14 year olds get off to a great start in crime because so many car owners make it so inviting to "joy ride."
Sure, some cars are stolen by the established criminal involved in stripping rings and by those wishing to use stolen cars for flight from the scene of other crimes, but, certainly, most cars can be protected quite easily.
Here's how you can protect yours.
Lock it. Lock it. Lock it.
Sounds so simple, but how often do you keep your car locked, even at inconvenient times?
Nearly half of Oakland's stolen cars had the keys left in them. After all, if you are going to steal a car, wouldn't you pick the one with keys? So does the car thief.
Lock all doors. Lock the trunk. Lock the tailgate of your station wagon. Close all windows and lock the vent wings. The Oakland Police do not recommend hiding extra keys under the hood or on the frame. The determined thief will find them.
If you have a garage, lock the car inside the garage and lock the garage.
And it's not a bad idea to install a locking gas tank cap to limit a car thief to the amount of driving he or she can do on one tank of gas.
There's More That You Can Do
When you're away from home with the car, park beneath street lights or in a well lit parking lot.
Don't leave packages in plain sight; lock them in the trunk.
At home, burn a light at the front and rear of your house.
Keep your registration number and license plate number in your wallet or purse so that in the event of car theft you'll have instant facts for the police.