Drive vehicle crime down

Auckland City Police will be visiting car parks in the central business area this week in an effort to spoil car thieves' attempts to ruin Christmas for city commuters and shoppers.

Despite concerted efforts from Police, car park owners and the City Council, city car parks remain attractive hunting grounds for thieves.

Senior Sergeant Vaughn Graham says Police are keen to take the opportunity to reiterate some basic, yet sometimes forgotten measures, that people can take to protect their property. At this time of year there is a real opportunity to prevent crime through creating increased awareness.

"Officers are out and about greeting morning car park patrons in Cook, Kitchener, Hobson, Wellesly and Nelson Streets and Grey's Ave, handing out and discussing crime prevention advice," Mr Graham says.

"A lot of car related property crime is preventable as items left in view of passing thieves are often too tempting for such opportunists and can be the difference between your car being broken into and damaged, or being left intact.

"Because honest people are busy and distracted by the Christmas rush, their lapses in concentration are often capitalised on by thieves."

Motorists are encouraged to, when parking their cars, take steps to help avoid becoming victims of theft, including;

• Lock your car
• Leave valuables at home
• If you have to carry valuables in your car, do not leave them within view
• Record serial numbers of your property
• Report incidents promptly to police
• Avoid leaving other house keys and automated garage openers in cars as this can lead to secondary offending like burglaries
• Report crime - when you see it happening - to Police on 111
• Report information anonymously about crime to Crimestoppers (0800 555 111)
"By taking some simple steps to reduce the chances of becoming another car-crime victim, you will reduce the headaches associated with fixing the damage done to vehicles when windows and locks are smashed or jemmied."

The messages are simple: Lock it, stash it or lose it.