With notes slipped under windshield wipers and postcards sent through the mail, central Ohio police agencies are reminding motorists that their unsecured valuables and unlocked car doors are an open invitation to thieves.
Police use such tactics year-round, but officers say the holiday season is a good time to reiterate that opportunistic crooks need only seconds to clean out a car of GPS devices, iPods and other high-ticket items.
Columbus officers check cars when they can and will leave notes for the owners, especially in areas where they've seen a rise in thefts, said Sgt. Rich Weiner, a Police Division spokesman. "It's just a nice little tap on the shoulder."
Police in Worthington, Dublin and Grove City said their officers use the same tactic to get the attention of people before they become victims.
"We place a static-cling note on vehicles so it's not noticeable to people who are passing by the cars," said Dublin public information officer Megan Canavan. "They're really subtle. It doesn't draw attention to their cars."
The message urges the recipients to be careful, noting that theft from vehicles is Dublin's No. 1 property crime. Analysis by the city revealed that car doors were unlocked in 21 percent of the reported thefts, most of which occurred between 6 and 10 p.m.
Dublin officers focus on parking lots that are busy or have seen a rise in thefts, Canavan said. "It's nice to have that sticker as a reminder."
In Westerville, police use the U.S. mail to deliver the message. When officers spot a car that begs to be broken into, they run the owner's information and drop him a postcard detailing when, where and why they found the car to be an easy mark.
With pictures of smashed automobile windows, the postcards aren't exactly cheery, but officers hope they will grab the recipients' attention, said police Lt. Tracey Myers. The message is one that can't be relayed enough, he said. "We're all so busy, and we're going from place to place to place, and it just kind of slips our minds."
Christopher Bair of the Near East Side can vouch for that.
In his six years living on Fair Avenue with his wife, their cars have been broken into three times. He said they love the neighborhood otherwise, but the property crimes can be "pretty frustrating."
The most-recent theft occurred early on the last Sunday of November, when thieves smashed out a rear window of their SUV and stole CDs, a GPS and a Sirius radio. The Bairs had parked under a street lamp right in front of their house and heard nothing all night, he said.
Bair said he grew more cautious after the earlier thefts but concedes he slipped back into carelessness.
He thinks his mistake this time was leaving a multijack adapter for his cigarette lighter plugged in. It glows neon blue and likely alerted thieves that there could be multiple electronic goodies inside.
"It's like a beacon," he said, annoyed with himself. "Come to me. Steal."
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