Tips to Prevent Car Break-Ins

If your car is broken into, report the incident to the police, even if you decide not to report it to your insurance company.  We need your assistance in determining what areas may be experiencing car break-in activity.

Store your car in a closed and locked garage when possible.

Before leaving your parked car, take some precautions:

• Always remove the keys, roll up the windows and lock the car.  Any valuable items which can be removed should be taken with you.  If valuables must be left in the car, keep them out of sight.  Mount stereos, CB radios, car phones, etc. inconspicuously.  Whenever possible, use mountings that allow you to take the equipment with you.  Be sure to remove automatic garage door openers from the car, as these could give thieves easy access to your house.
• If your car is stored in a carport or parked near your house, leave your exterior lights on (front and back) throughout the night.  Consider replacing the light fixture closest to your car with a motion detector unit.  The light will be off routinely but will come on if the car is approached.  Motion detectors can be good psychological deterrents since the normal assumption of a person seeing a light come on is that someone has seen them.
• Consider replacing the door lock knobs with smooth knobs that are more difficult to open from the outside.
• Consider adding a car alarm system, but remember to be neighborly and respond to the alarm promptly should it be set off.  If the alarm system has a motion detector, look for a system in which the sensitivity of the motion detector can be adjusted or even switched off when needed.
• The sound of breaking glass may mean a car break-in is occurring.  Be sure to look in the direction of the sound and observe as much as you can so that you can provide detailed information to the police when reporting the incident.