In the News, part 11
by J.J. Lewsac
It is not unusual to hear stories about stupid criminals. The subject can be easily seen on television shows dedicated to them, or are often humorous news stories reported by local stations. The stories that don’t receive much attention though are the ones which feature stupid victims. Such is the case out of a story from WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky. According to the report, a man stole thousands of dollars’ worth of belongings from over 2 dozen cars in a single night. The thefts, some of which were caught on a home surveillance system, took place late at night and into the early morning in a quiet Louisville community.
Shelby Walker, one of the resident victims explained her wallet, GPS, credit cards, and checks were stolen from her car and her boyfriend’s truck. After making a quick call to her bank the next morning, she was horrified to find that all of her accounts had been emptied. Sounds like a terrible misfortune right? That is how I felt…until I discovered that Shelby Walker as well as every other victim in the crime spree had all left their vehicles unlocked. Every one of the two dozen or more vehicles was broken into without forced entry.
Detective Harvey Hunt with the St. Matthews Police Department said, “If you’ve got your cars parked in your driveway, your garages, keep them secure. Keep your doors locked. Don’t make it easy for someone to get into it.”
The surveillance footage and news report can be seen here: http://www.wlky.com/r/27998989/detail.html
I really can’t believe that people would leave so many important items in an unprotected, unlocked car. It is not a very safe practice, and why would a home owner invest in a surveillance system to protect his property, and then proceed to leave his vehicles vulnerable? A surveillance system is an important part of protecting your home, but it should be used in conjunction with common sense. Simply locking your doors, and not leaving credit cards, checks and other valuables laying around can do wonders for deterring theft.