* Park in an open, well-lighted, and populated area near your destination, preferably one in view of a security camera. Avoid parking near trucks, vans, dumpsters, and other objects that obstruct visibility and provide hiding places. Avoid parking near strangers loitering or sitting in vehicles.
* Park in lots or garages where you don’t have to leave your keys. If you have to leave your vehicle keys, remove all home and other keys from you chain. Also, don’t leave your garage door opener where it is easily accessible, and hide your vehicle registration, proof of insurance, and any other papers with your home address on them where they are not likely to be found.
* Park in your garage, if you have one. Don’t leave your vehicle on the street, in an alley, or on your driveway. If you have to park on a street, avoid dark or isolated areas.
* Turn off your engine, roll up all windows, lock all doors, and take your keys with you even if you are making a quick stop at a store or gas station. Also make sure the trunk and hood are locked.
* Don’t leave your vehicle in an unattended public lot for an extended period time.
* Buy a vehicle with interior hood and truck lock releases. Install a secondary hood lock if your car does not have one.
* Replace knob-type door lock buttons with tapered ones.
* Install an alarm system that will sound when someone attempts to break in, move, tilt, or start your vehicle. Always activate the system when leaving the vehicle.
* Check your vehicle if you hear the alarm sound. But don’t try to stop a person attempting to break in. Get a good description of the person and call the police.
* When you lock your vehicle with a Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) fob make sure that all the doors are locked before leaving your vehicle, especially in public parking lots. There has been an increase in the use of jammers to prevent the RKE signal from activating the door locks.
PREVENTING THEFTS FROM VEHICLES
* Never leave anything of value in plain sight. Conceal all navigation aids, cellular phones, audio systems, laptop computers, packages, sports equipment, cameras, purses, wallets, firearms, hand tools, sunglasses, etc. from the inside of your vehicle.
* Take anything you can’t afford to lose with you, e.g., a wallet or laptop computer. Put other valuables in the trunk before you park, never after you park. Thieves may be watching.
* When shopping, ask the store to hold all your purchases until you are finished there so you can carry everything to your vehicle in one trip. If you need to make more than one trip to load your trunk, move your vehicle to a different area of the parking lot after each trip.
* Make sure that any valuables that were locked in the glove box or trunk were not taken or tampered with when you return to your vehicle. Thieves are able to get into some vehicles without leaving any visible signs of a break-in.
* Take the removable face of your CD player with you even if you are going to be gone for a few minutes.
* Lock truck-bed toolboxes.
* Install locking devices on batteries, wheels, audio equipment, spare tires, gas tanks, etc.
* Make several slices through your license plate registration sticker after it has been placed on the plate. If the sticker is stolen you can get a replacement from your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office.
* When pumping gas and no one else is in your car, roll up all the windows, lock the doors, and take your keys with you so you don’t lock yourself out of the car or leave the window nearest you open. This will prevent someone from taking anything you may have left in the car, e.g., a purse on the front seat, while you are not looking.