By James Peters

RCMP report Kamloops drivers locking up, but not removing valuables

Dec 11, 2018 | 9:52 AM

KAMLOOPS — RCMP say there are two steps to preventing vehicle break-ins, and Kamloops residents are only good at following one of them.

Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says the first step is locking up your vehicle, and Crime Prevention volunteers and Auxiliary Constables auditing local parking lots last Friday found only one vehicle out of the hundreds they checked had unlocked doors.

But Shelkie says the second step is removing your valuable items, and the picture there wasn’t so rosy.

59 locked vehicles were found to contain valuable items in plain sight.

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“Our volunteers saw things like wallets, purses and computers inside these locked vehicles,” said Shelkie. “Not only do you need to lock your vehicle every time you get out of it, but you need to take all of your valuables with you.”

Shelkie says thieves won’t be dissuaded by locked doors if they know breaking a window can get them something valuable.

“We have about the same number of reports of thefts from vehicles, but there is a substantially larger number of these thefts that include windows being broken in the vehicle,” said Shelkie.

“These thieves are people who take advantage of the obvious. They check the door handle. If it’s locked, then they look inside. If they see nothing of value, they usually just keep on going. However, if they do see that wallet or purse or some other valuable in there, they will likely break the window.”