"But Officer - I Was Only Gone for a Minute"

While reading the summary of crime incidents from the past weekend, I learned about an incident in which a citizen left their car unlocked and running so they could dash into the store to make a quick purchase. To their surprise upon returning to the vehicle, a purse left carelessly inside on the seat was now missing.

Officers hear this statement all too often in such situations, "But Officer, I was only gone for a minute."

Due to the lack of thinking on the part of "victims" in such situations, the police are now responsible for writing a report about a crime that was preventable, and a pin marker will appear on the next crime map for something that should have never occurred. It really amounts to a waste of police resources that could be used for other more pressing matters.

In fact, just over half of thefts from motor vehicles occur when careless drivers leave their cars unlocked, or windows down, or valuables left in plain view. Last year that accounted for nearly 600 of the approximately 1,200 thefts from motor vehicles investigated by the police department.

It is against the law to leave your unattended vehicle running while you run into the store, but officers need to observe the violation in order to charge someone; and, we prefer to give warnings when we do discover a violation rather than issue a citation.

Not every car burglar can be identified as easily as the suspicious character to the right. Please do your part and help prevent these crimes. Even if you are going to be away from your car for just a moment, turn it off, lock it, and remove anything of value from the prying eyes of anyone lurking in the parking lot.

Remember - Lock It or Lose It!

-Asst Chief Bill LePere