By Brian Stanley
For the Bugle
Shorewood Police are reminding residents to keep their vehicles locked when parked outside, especially overnight.
“Summer is here, it’s finally not raining, therefore people (are) out at all hours and unfortunately sometimes the people out have bad intentions,” the department said in a statement.
Several police departments in northern Illinois reported decreases in most crimes last year except car burglaries. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reports $1.2 billion in personal items are stolen in nearly 2 million car burglaries every year.
“Despite our best efforts, we cannot be everywhere at all hours. One way to help us and to help yourselves from not becoming a victim of a property crime is to secure your vehicle doors when they are left unattended,” Shorewood police said.
Besides locking doors, removing items from the vehicle, or at least removing them from sight, decreases the odds of a break-in. Purses, wallets, sunglasses, GPS, cell phones, iPods, chargers and loose change should all be moved to the trunk, center console or glove compartment.
“Finally, keys and key fobs get misplaced all around the house, all the time,” police said. “However, the last place they need to be kept is an unsecured vehicle merely for convenience.”