Police chief says protect your cars - lock the doors
Summary
Clarkston Police Chief Joel Hastings says some people have a misunderstanding about what car burglars look for when it comes to getting into vehicles and that some are leaving their doors unlocked so crooks won’t break the windows out.
Story Published: Feb 6, 2010 at 8:41 PM PST
Story Updated: Feb 6, 2010 at 8:41 PM PST
"In the last two nights we've had several cars that were opened and rummaged through," said Clarkston Police Chief Joel Hastings during an interview Wednesday..
Many of the prowls resulted in nothing being taken. And one thing seemed to be common with the prowls, the cars were all left unlocked.
"People can take a few simple steps and leave their cars locked and try to park in a lit area so that it's safe. And don't leave any valuable items in the car that are visible from the outside is always a good idea," said Hastings.
Several of the break-ins happened in the area of 12th and Highland. Hastings said many people have told him they leave their cars unlocked so if someone is prowling, they wont break their windows.
But Hastings said typically, criminals are looking for easy access and won't break a window to get into a car unless they see something expensive sitting out.
Hastings said they are looking for suspects.
"We encourage citizens to contact us if they see anything suspicious. Give us a call so we can investigate," said Hastings. "Most of the vehicle thefts that we have been able to make arrests on have been solved from citizens calling us when they see something suspicious."