Police play at being thief
POLICE are stepping into crooks’ shoes after discovering careless drivers are leaving themselves wide open to thieves by forgetting to lock their car.
Thieves have revealed to police how they simply walk along roads trying all of the door handles until finding one that is open, leaving them free to help themselves to any valuables.
Now police are following in their footsteps in a new crime crackdown.
And they have already found hundreds of motorists who could become the next victim of car crooks prowling the streets of Birmingham.
Of the 8,500 vehicles checked across car crime “hotspot areas” in north Birmingham, more than five per cent were found unlocked or with their windows wide open.
Officers are now contacting the owners warning them about their mistake. Letters have also been posted in streets letting residents know what the police are doing.
Similar moves are being done to combat burglary with officers looking for windows left open while people are out.
Cops, staggered by the kind of things they see on show, hope the move will encourage people to take greater care of their property and help reduce the amount of recorded crime.
Supt Tim Godwin, from Sutton Coldfield police, said: “We are still staggered by the sort of things we come across. Wallets, laptops and sat-navs are all there for the taking.
“We’re asking people to take some responsibility for their own property to stop them from becoming a victim. If the property is important to them, they shouldn’t leave it out on show as an open invitation to thieves.”
According to police, offenders also look out for sat-nav cradles or suction marks on windscreens, are tempted by lose change and will search glove boxes, central consoles, door wells and sun visors.
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