VEHICLE BREAK-INS: PREVENTION IS YOUR BEST DEFENSE

 

In recent years, automobile break-ins in the San Francisco Bay Area have been at epidemic levels. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant decrease in these crimes, but the numbers of break-ins appears to be rising again. This map above shows the number and locations of car break-ins occurring across the city between July 20 and August 19, 2020. The chart below shows the number of break-ins by month from 2018 to July 2020. Both the map and chart are from a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle and are compiled from daily updates from the San Francisco Police Department. 

In July, 998 vehicle break-ins or about 32 per day were reported to SFPD. A majority of them occur tourist-heavy areas as Golden Gate Park, the Palace of Fine Arts and near the crooked part of Lombard Street.If your car is broken into, you’ll be dealing with the hassles of broken windows, stolen property, insurance claims, and potentially the anger and/or fear associated with this “violation” of your personal property. And, because a break-in is an easy and lucrative crime, your best course of action is to avoid it happening to you is to take preventative measures. 

Some “Creative” suggestions for Avoiding Break-ins:

• Leave lots of random garbage inside, but not clothing or food.
• You want the car to look dirty, but not lived in.
• Paper trash is best and easiest to clean out of the interior.
• Never wash the exterior.

Or you can try angry bees or a Trunk Monkey

Signs posted near Alamo Square Park encourage folks to: lock your car, take your keys with you, conceal your belongings and "fill a decoy purse with thousands of angry, poisonous bees," showing that the SFPD has a sense of humor.

(video credit: Suburban Ford, Sandy, Oregon)

REAL TIPS TO PREVENT VEHICLE BREAK-INS

Remove or Hide Valuables – Even Loose Change

Take what you have in your car with you whenever you get out of the car. This includes empty bags or receipts from stores that sell high-end or desirable merchandise. Visible loose change does induce a certain type of thief to break into your car. If you can’t take them with you, cover them, or put them in the trunk or glove compartment. But remember, a locked trunk or glove compartment is still not burglar-proof, and if your device emits a Bluetooth signal, thieves can detect their presence in the car. 

Park in Well-Lit Areas

If your car is parked in the dark, it’s much easier for thieves to just break in quickly. Parking in well-lit areas on busy streets is a good way to deter thieves. Park as close to a place with people as you can. This at offers the chance that someone else will witness any attempted burglary, or create enough ambient activity that the thief will search for an easier target.

Watch Who’s Watching and Avoid Suspicious Activity

Some thieves will stake out a parking lot and watch you transfer your things to your trunk. So stow your articles BEFORE you get to where you’ll be leaving your car unattended, even if that means you have to make a separate stop.  Furthermore, if you sense any suspicious activity, even if you are in a well-lit parking structure, trust your instincts and don't park there. 

Install a Security System and Make Sure It Is Apparent 

Be sure that you put stickers for your car alarm on your vehicle, since this deters thieves who don’t want the attention of a car alarm. This could easily prevent your car from getting a broken window even if your alarm prevents the theft of other items in the vehicle.

Make the Stereo Less Attractive

Stereos are a very common item that gets stolen in car break ins. One thing you can do is to remove the faceplate and keep it in your glove box or console. A missing faceplate makes radios less valuable, so it’s less likely that thieves will try to steal it from inside your car. Another option is to remove the stereo and put it in the glove box if you will be parked somewhere for a long time. Don’t put a decal on your car that displays your stereo brand. 

Lock the Doors and Roll-up Your Windows

It’s important to lock your car doors. Thieves look for unlocked cars to make the job easier. There’s an old myth that says if you leave your car doors unlocked, it will prevent your windows from being shattered, because thieves are going to find a way even if your doors are locked. However, if you’ve taken the other preventative measures and no valuables are visible, a thief will not want to try to pick a lock or break a window if there is no obvious pay-off for them to do so.

Also

Consider additional measures, steering wheel lock mechanisms. And, DON’T LEAVE YOUR KEYS IN THE CAR, AND DON’T LEAVE YOUR CAR WITH THE MOTOR RUNNING! If you think that you have a great hiding place for a key – like in your wheel well or above the sun visor – a thief has also thought of it too. If you’re away from your car, keep your keys away from it too. 

AND IF YOU WITNESS A BREAK-IN…

Report Break-Ins

If you see a break-in in progress, call 911 immediately! Provide the 911 dispatcher with as much information as possible, including:

Location - Address, cross-streets or specific location in a parking lot.

Description of the suspect - Provide as much information as you can, i.e. gender, race, age, height, weight, hair color and length, color and length of facial hair, colors and type of clothing, and identifying marks such as tattoos or piercings.

Direction - If the suspect flees, give the direction of travel. If they flee on a bicycle or in a vehicle, describe the color, make, model, and license plate number, if it is safe to do so.