Police Give Safety Tips Following Car Break-Ins

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) — Cleveland police are investigating several recent car break-ins throughout the city.

Many victims are making it easier for criminals to get inside their vehicles.

News 12 spoke with police for some tips on how to keep you from becoming the next victim ahead of the holiday shopping season.

“You would be surprised at how many people leave their cars unlocked,” said Sgt. Evie West, Cleveland police department. “However, say that you don’t leave your car unlocked, if you put a Mac computer there that’s worth $1200, $1800, someone’s going to bust your window.”

West says it doesn’t take much to be targeted by thieves, but you can keep from becoming a victim.

“It’s still a crime, but we could really prevent if we started putting in preventative measures,” West said.

Police say a lot of these break-ins are crimes of opportunity. Many people leave their doors unlocked, and keep valuables in plain sight.

“What they’ll do is they’ll walk through these neighborhoods, and then they’ll just test the doors, and they’ll pull up on the handles,” West said. “If the door’s unlocked, they’ll rummage through it, and if there’s change, it’ll be gone. And if there’s anything that is of any value at all – headphones or CDs or anything that they can pawn – they’re going to do that.”

Sgt. West says criminals are also going after purses and firearms.

That’s why it’s important not to advertise what you keep in your car.

“A lot of those were targeted by the stickers that were put on the back of cars,” she said. “So if you’re a firearm lover, or you put like NRA stickers or stickers of Glocks, you know, anything on the back of your car, and that’s just kind’ve, you know, since the new law about being able to carry a loaded firearm in your car now without a permit, these kind’ve invite people saying ‘Hey, I probably have a weapon in here.'”

Other tips? Roll up your windows. Of course, lock your car. Leave valuables out of plain sight, or take them out of your car all together.

“We’ll do our part, but we also need our citizens to do their part by locking and securing their belongings,” West said.

All good habits to develop before the busy holiday shopping season.

Sgt. West says the police department also posts crime prevention tips on their website and Facebook page.