Cars and Robbers

I've received a some reports in the past few weeks of some late-night attempts to remove items from parked cars.  Generally the attempts were unsuccessful because the cars were locked, someone observed the nefarious activities and called the police, or because there was nothing of value to steal.  There have been some small, portable items (like iPods and portable GPS devices) taken.

There seems to be a pattern to these attempted robberies.  The vandals work individually or in small groups.  They walk along a row of cars searching for unlocked doors.  When they find a car with an unlocked door they make a quick search for small, portable valuables to grab.  They run away when someone notices them and yells or calls the police.

I have not had any reports of these robbers trying to force the locks of locked cars.  I suppose the time it takes and noise it makes to break into a car makes it more likely that the potential robbers will be spotted and the police called. 

To thwart these potential robbers some obvious steps should be taken.  Please lock all car doors when leaving your vehicle.  Even if you think you might be returning to your car shortly, lock the doors.  Often plans change and the car is left unlocked overnight.   Also, don't leave small, valuable, electronic devices or other obviously valuable items in plain sight in your car.  Hide them out of sight or even better, bring them inside.

As always, your comments are welcome.  Please click on the word "comment(s)" below.


Harvey Levine
Inverness Today Blog
iftblog@gmail.com