Published: 12-19-07
(Arlington TX) This holiday season auto burglars will shop the easy way – by stealing gifts purses wallets packages electronics or other valuables you leave in plain sight in your vehicle. Every two minutes a vehicle is burglarized in Texas and the contents stolen. These crimes escalate during the holiday season when people increase shopping and don’t always take necessary precautions to protect items left in a vehicle. “We know that auto burglars scout malls shopping centers and other large parking lots this time of year for the perfect opportunity to break into a vehicle. Within seconds they can take your purchases your belongings information to steal your identity and sometimes your car” said Michelle Lanham program manager for the Reduce Auto Theft in Texas (RATT) public awareness task force at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) in Arlington. “Texas drivers need to understand that carelessness with items left inside vehicles actually helps auto burglars and thieves carry out their crimes more efficiently.”
The Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) and RATT offer three basic safety tips to motorists to help prevent these crimes during the holidays and throughout the year: hide belongings from view lock your vehicles and take the keys. Last year thieves stole over 95000 vehicles in Texas. In some jurisdictions more than half of reported thefts occurred because vehicle keys were left inside. Once a vehicle is stolen the thief will have easy access to everything left inside including items such as garage door openers house keys and personal information which can all lead to additional and more serious crimes as well as further victimization of the vehicle owner.
“We want everyone to enjoy the holiday season and not experience the violation and frustration of having their vehicles burglarized or stolen. We encourage all vehicle owners and operators to help prevent such crimes from happening” said Susan Sampson the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) director for the ABTPA.
ABTPA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1991 to fund programs to reduce vehicle thefts. The passing of House Bill 1887 earlier this year expanded the scope of the program to include automobile burglary prevention and added the term “burglary” to the Authority’s title. The legislation also amended the Texas Penal Code by increasing the punishment for burglary of a motor vehicle to a state jail felony for those previously convicted two or more times of vehicle burglary.
For free information on auto burglary and theft prevention statistics contact information for any of ABTPA’s 30 vehicle crimes task forces in Texas public service announcements or to schedule an interview or parking lot “walk through” with task force personnel call 800-CAR-WATCH or visit the following websites: www.txwatchyourcar.com OR www.nctcog.org/cs/ratt.
