ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — With lots of people out and about looking after their Christmas shopping these days, it's good to take a second to think about the best way to leave your vehicle while it's parked unattended.
That's because with the holiday shopping also come the holiday thieves. Const. Stephanie Myers of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in St. John's notes thefts from vehicles are a year-round concern for police — these complaints come on a daily basis — but she also acknowledges this sort of criminal activity tends to increase in the lead up to Christmas.
"This time of year, it's always an issue for us," she said.
As a preventative measure, Myers suggests a crime of opportunity can be made less obvious if people on the outside cannot see items on the inside that would otherwise attract unwanted attention from prying eyes. An even better option to prevent these sorts of crimes from causing headaches in the first place is to simply leave no valuables in the vehicle.
"If something is left in plain sight on the front seat — a Peoples Jewellers bag or something — it's a crime of opportunity," Myers said. "That's going to be more likely a target for people who are committing the crimes."
On the accessibility side, locking doors obviously limits the opportunity to get inside the vehicle. That said, making sure there are no valuables left behind or visible from the outside looking in will deter criminals from considering a quick smash and grab to get around the doors being locked.
Making sure alarms are active can also prove to be a useful precaution, Myers said, noting criminals are less likely to smash car windows in busy parking lots.
"The parking location as well," she said. "If you're parking in a poorly lit area or if you're near paths, that also makes it a lot more appetizing for these people, for the criminals, to commit these types of crimes.
"Not necessarily through work, but I've heard recently of a couple of instances where people have been putting their grocery bags, packages, whatever they may be, inside their trunks, not locking their vehicles, simply returning their carts to the cart corrals, and from the time it took them to leave their cars to go to the cart corrals and back, someone has been watching them load up their vehicle. As soon as they turned their backs, they emptied the trunk on them, and the person leaves and doesn't even realize until they get home and open their trunk that their parcels have been taken."
These days, the internet is where more and more people go for their Christmas shopping. As a result, Myers said police do hear from residents who have boxes stolen from their front steps.
She said doorbell cameras and other home security options can serve as good deterrents for this type of criminal activity.
"If the theft does happen, at least we have something for us to work with," Myers said.
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Twitter: @CBNAndrew
