I work in a 911 dispatch center and my husband is a police detective and we could tell you countless stories of how people have had their vehicles broken into overnight while thier cars sat safety in their own driveways. Well, here is our advice to you, wise up people! Your vehicle is not a safety deposit box for your most valuable possessions, most importantly, your identity and credit.

Today’s technology allows us to carry all sorts of little expensive gadgets that hold vast amounts of information about our personal lives like our favorite music, pictures of our kids and family, personal documents, address and phone numbers to our contacts, and most import our checking account numbers, our pins to access those accounts, our social security numbers, and information about our creditors (i.e. credit cards). If your vehicle is broken into and these things are stolen like your laptop, Iphone, Itouch/Ipod, palm pilots, etc. they can easily be replaced at some monetary cost to you, whether it be through insurance (w/ an out-of-pocket deductible) or repurchasing the devices. Let’s face it, both options are pretty crummy. Many of those things listed above hold the keys to most of our financial and business lives, so do not give the keys to your kingdom away by leaving these things in your vehicle, locked or not.

Most LFA’s (police lingo for larceny from autos) are committed by petty criminals and bored teenagers who are looking for cash and they usually do not bother themselves with using your personal information. They usually sell these items to people WHO do want your information. And once that information is in the wrong hands, it takes a matter of minutes for the bad guy to makes purchases under your name and open new accounts before you even realized what has happened.

Bottom Line:

Not leaving your valuable items in your vehicle is the best way to protect yourself. Just carry them inside with you. If not, lock them in your truck along with all the cords, adapters, and mounting brackets. Just seeing the attachments in your vehicle will make most thieves break into a car. If the criminals do not see it, they usually do not go looking for it.

Also, take advantage of any security features your credit/debit cards offer such as signing the back of your card, credit cards w/ your photo on the back, etc. Also, although most items like laptops, phones, wallets, Ipods, etc. are never recovered after being taken, it is important to have the serial numbers of your electronics saved somewhere in case your items do show up somewhere, i.e. a pawn shop. When law enforcement agencies take reports on stolen articles, the articles get entered into a national computer using the serial number. That means if your item is ever recovered by a law enforcement agency they will run the recovered item through their computers that interface with the national crime computers. If the information with the serial number has been entered by the police department you filed the report with, the national computer will hit on the information. You might have some sort of chance of recovering your stolen items. Most “car hoppers” will max out your credit cards at an all night store before you even realize it is gone. So keep those cards in your pants, wallet, or purse and make sure they come inside with you at night.

Personal Story:

I cannot even believe I am admitting this to you, however, if it protects you from being a victim then it is well worth my embarrassment. My husband and I live in one of those really quiet, peaceful, low crime neighborhoods. Our street at the time was a “no outlet” street, which means that there is no way out of the subdivision without turning around and going right back out the way you came in. It was a nice summer day and my hubby was on overtime so I had all fives kids with me (including my youngest who was an infant at the time). I had to take all the kids to the grocery store with me to pick up some milk and other essentials. I rarely take kids to the grocery store with me unless it is absolutely necessary (there is not enough Xanax in the world). Anyway, I was pretty frazzled when we got home. I unloaded all the kids and groceries and went inside our home and went on with my day. I put everyone to bed and was so exhausted I collapsed on the couch. I forget one very important thing. Amidst the hustle of unloading everyone and the groceries, I forget to grab my purse which had my wallet filled with $400.00 in cash, credit cards, social security card, etc. My purse also had my IPod and cell phone in it. Then I committed the ultimate sin; I did not lock my doors. Can you take a good guess what happened? The next morning I awoke and half of the personal items that where in my purse were blowing across the front lawn. Of course, my purse, wallet, money, cell phone, and IPod were gone, never to be recovered. Seven of my neighbors were also targeted and they admitted to me that they left their car doors unlocked. Moral of the story, do not be stupid like me, it could happen to you. Would love to hear anyone else’s story.

If you have any law enforcement related questions or you are just curious about what it like to be a cop would love to hear from you. I will do my best to answer your questions in a timely fashion.