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CHARLOTTE, NC — It’s common sense. Lock your car doors. Hide your valuables. But people in Charlotte are still not getting the message.
The numbers don’t lie. One CMPD division is seeing an increase in larceny from vehicles, and sharing some simple steps that could make all the difference.
You get comfortable in your routine, but that comfort can cost you.
“On a rainy night people get home, they just want to rush into their house,” says CMPD Officer Wes Corell. “They leave things in the car, and nobody’s looking out the window.”
You’re in a rush. You forget to lock your car doors. Maybe you feel safe and sound in your neighborhood, but it’s a false sense of security.
They call it “car surfing”. A group of thieves walking through a neighborhood, looking for an easy score. What they want is an unlocked car door. And we could be making it easier for them, leaving valuables out in plain sight.
“Typically it’s in the middle of the night,” says Officer Corell. “Two, three or four o’clock in the morning when they know everybody is asleep.”
“They go through cars, and they mainly go for change,” says South Charlotte resident Jocelyn McLaughlin. “But if people have left things in their cars, they’ll tale advantage of that.”
Criminals recently hit a dozen cars in McLaughlin’s neighborhood off Rama Road in South Charlotte.
The word spread quickly.
“It’ll come in an email so the whole neighborhood will be aware of it,” says McLaughlin. “People then again remember to lock their doors, and the problem will go away.”
That is the first, and best, line of defense. And be aware of what you’re leaving behind.
“Take all the valuables out of your car, and then if you do have to leave something in the car, put it in the trunk or where it can’t be seen,” warns Officer Corell.
Officers from CMPD’s Independence Division responded quickly to the threat, sending out undercover units, increasing patrols and reinforcing the basics. Helping to keep neighbors vigilant.
“If you see somebody suspicious, you know, please call 911,” say Officer Corell. “Not that you even saw them breaking into a car. But if you saw them looking into a car, that’s a suspicious person at two o’clock in the morning. And that’s worth a 911 call to us to get us out there.”
CMPD numbers show that theft from vehicles is flat for the first half of 2014. The Independence Division had a 4 percent increase from last year.
