(KTLA News) |
When you go shopping for bargains the day after Thanksgiving, you may think you are getting a "steal," but some thieves are out to steal purchases from your car.
Local police say it takes just five seconds, and whatever you have left in your car is gone. Detective Debbie Potter, Coordinator of the Los Angeles Police Department's Auto Theft Unit in the West Valley, says it happens more in the holiday months that are upon us.
"People are very busy," says Detective Potter. "They're trying to get the Christmas shopping done, so they throw their stuff in the car, and leave the doors open, or leave it in plain view."
And around the holidays, there is just more stuff to be stolen.
"Nobody wants to lug around 30 bags," says Detective Potter, "but sometimes it's better than putting it in your car. During the holiday season they (thieves) are watching people do their shopping."
Even if your car doors are locked, new purchases are attractive bait. A quick pull, or another method to break your window, and your property is gone. But thieves also want regular old purses, wallets, navigation systems and laptops.
It's a good idea to take a break from holiday stress by exercising, but besides shopping areas, parks are hot spots for theft from cars. Your car and personal information are at risk when you leave your purse behind.
"I actually do once in a while put it in the trunk," one jogger told us. "If people are watching I better watch out for that."
"Someone did break into my car," another woman told us, "and they stole my purse, which I had hidden there. So I lost a lot of id's and credit cards."
Increased security in shopping areas can be helpful. But in tough economic times, thieves may be even more desperate. Some police operations use "bait cars" to target crooks, either to catch them stealing the stuff inside, or the entire car.
Bait cars are vehicles owned by the police and set-up to be stolen. Everything that takes place inside a bait car is caught on audio and video, and the car itself is often monitored by GPS tracking. The police can stop the engine with a kill switch, and some bait cars, including many with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, lock the car door so the suspect cannot get out, until the cops let him or her out.
The largest, and perhaps most successful, bait car fleet in North America is in Vancouver, British Columbia. The combined police effort called "IMPACT" says most car thieves are drug addicts, looking for thrills, and money for their next high. "IMPACT" says since the program started, auto theft rates are down forty-seven percent from five years ago.
Here in Los Angeles, bait cars are good weapons too. Officers say the people who steal things from your car, or take the car itself, don't do it just once. Detective Potter says the crimes of theft from a car (taking stuff out of a car that isn't yours), burglary from a car (using force to get the stuff inside), and stealing the car itself are committed by people in all walks of life. The LAPD asks that if you believe someone is looking in cars in an attempt to steal, do not confront that person--just contact the police. Do not leave belongings in plain view in your car. Covering them up or putting them in your trunk is a better idea, but taking either of those actions does not make them secure. The best plan is to carry what you purchase, and to make another trip to the mall on a different day for more. If you park somewhere to exercise, leave your purse at home, and exercise with your ID and keys on you.
For more information on bait cars, please see the following web sites:
www.baitcar.com
The Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT) is based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. IMPACT works to catch criminals who steal cars, and puts many of its bait car videos on its website.
http://www.lasd.org/divisions/detective/trap/trap.html
Taskforce for Regional Auto Theft Prevention (T.R.A.P.) T.R.A.P. includes investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's and Police Departments, the California Highway patrol, and other participating law enforcement agencies in the County. This unit investigates, apprehends, and prosecutes organized auto theft operations, "chop shops," international car theft rings that ship stolen vehicles in cargo containers out of the country, and other types of vehicle theft.
Local police say it takes just five seconds, and whatever you have left in your car is gone. Detective Debbie Potter, Coordinator of the Los Angeles Police Department's Auto Theft Unit in the West Valley, says it happens more in the holiday months that are upon us.
"People are very busy," says Detective Potter. "They're trying to get the Christmas shopping done, so they throw their stuff in the car, and leave the doors open, or leave it in plain view."
And around the holidays, there is just more stuff to be stolen.
"Nobody wants to lug around 30 bags," says Detective Potter, "but sometimes it's better than putting it in your car. During the holiday season they (thieves) are watching people do their shopping."
Even if your car doors are locked, new purchases are attractive bait. A quick pull, or another method to break your window, and your property is gone. But thieves also want regular old purses, wallets, navigation systems and laptops.
It's a good idea to take a break from holiday stress by exercising, but besides shopping areas, parks are hot spots for theft from cars. Your car and personal information are at risk when you leave your purse behind.
"I actually do once in a while put it in the trunk," one jogger told us. "If people are watching I better watch out for that."
"Someone did break into my car," another woman told us, "and they stole my purse, which I had hidden there. So I lost a lot of id's and credit cards."
Increased security in shopping areas can be helpful. But in tough economic times, thieves may be even more desperate. Some police operations use "bait cars" to target crooks, either to catch them stealing the stuff inside, or the entire car.
Bait cars are vehicles owned by the police and set-up to be stolen. Everything that takes place inside a bait car is caught on audio and video, and the car itself is often monitored by GPS tracking. The police can stop the engine with a kill switch, and some bait cars, including many with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, lock the car door so the suspect cannot get out, until the cops let him or her out.
The largest, and perhaps most successful, bait car fleet in North America is in Vancouver, British Columbia. The combined police effort called "IMPACT" says most car thieves are drug addicts, looking for thrills, and money for their next high. "IMPACT" says since the program started, auto theft rates are down forty-seven percent from five years ago.
Here in Los Angeles, bait cars are good weapons too. Officers say the people who steal things from your car, or take the car itself, don't do it just once. Detective Potter says the crimes of theft from a car (taking stuff out of a car that isn't yours), burglary from a car (using force to get the stuff inside), and stealing the car itself are committed by people in all walks of life. The LAPD asks that if you believe someone is looking in cars in an attempt to steal, do not confront that person--just contact the police. Do not leave belongings in plain view in your car. Covering them up or putting them in your trunk is a better idea, but taking either of those actions does not make them secure. The best plan is to carry what you purchase, and to make another trip to the mall on a different day for more. If you park somewhere to exercise, leave your purse at home, and exercise with your ID and keys on you.
For more information on bait cars, please see the following web sites:
www.baitcar.com
The Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT) is based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. IMPACT works to catch criminals who steal cars, and puts many of its bait car videos on its website.
http://www.lasd.org/divisions/detective/trap/trap.html
Taskforce for Regional Auto Theft Prevention (T.R.A.P.) T.R.A.P. includes investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's and Police Departments, the California Highway patrol, and other participating law enforcement agencies in the County. This unit investigates, apprehends, and prosecutes organized auto theft operations, "chop shops," international car theft rings that ship stolen vehicles in cargo containers out of the country, and other types of vehicle theft.
