According to statistics from the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, vehicle burglaries continue to be a major concern across the county.
“It’s constant, in fact the county’s number one problem (as far as crime),” said Rich Aloy, the SRSO’s public information officer.
Aloy said a majority of these cases could be avoided if the vehicle owners would simply lock their vehicles after they park.
Out of the 245 vehicle burglaries which occurred last year, 212 or 87 percent of those incidents involved vehicles which were not locked. Only a 13 percent of last year’s vehicle burglaries were from vehicles which were locked, Aloy said.
Many of vehicle thefts are perpetrated by juveniles or individuals in their 20’s, Aloy said. He added the number of burglaries occur when school is not in session, during spring break or summer vacation.
“It’s the younger crowd that likes doing them,” Aloy said.
As an example, Aloy cited Navarre Beach as popular spot for such crimes to occur.
For this particular reason, the sheriff’s office has launched a local ‘Hide, Lock and Take’ program for the county, in which signs are posted in areas of reported vehicle burglary activity to remind residents and visitors to ‘Hide Your Things, Lock Your Car and Take Your Keys.’ Aloy said the Sheriff’s Office brought the program, initially started in Texas, to the county last year.
One common area where vehicle burglaries often occur is in subdivisions, Aloy said. Whether a subdivision is scoped out by a outsider or a person living in the area, Aloy said neighborhoods across the county are targets for vehicle burglaries. Also, Aloy said to lock the car in the driveway when coming home for the night and close the garage door. “Many people pull into the garage and walk into the house with the car unlocked and the garage door wide open,” he said.
Aloy said perpetrators usually “go shopping from car to car” when looking for a potential vehicle to break into. In addition to keeping the doors of the vehicle locked, Aloy also said valuables – including purses or any type of high priced electronic devices, should be placed in the trunk of a car before leaving towards a destination.
Placing such items in the trunk is more of a deterrent to criminals than simply placing a towel or jacket over it, Aloy said.
Should residents, living in a subdivision known to have such burglary problems, Aloy also suggests forming a neighborhood watch program.
“The neighborhood watch programs are huge for us,” Aloy said. “Citizens have given us information to help lead us in making arrests.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Lock your car, take your keys