Please attribute to Alan Cappleman Sergeant in Charge Community Policing Hutt Valley North
Sergeant Alan Cappleman, says winter is a timely reminder to the community to immediately report any suspicious activity to Police when going to winter sports games.
While Police will continue to focus on vehicle crime around sports grounds, where people park their cars - there are some things the community can do to help.
“It can take as little as five seconds for an offender to smash a window and grab an item from a vehicle, and the cost of repairing the smashed window is often greater than the value of the items taken.
“We have seen instances of vehicles being broken into just for spare change that was visible from outside the vehicle.
"There are some basic prevention measures people can take that will greatly reduce the chances of their vehicle being stolen or broken into: ensure you don’t keep valuables in your vehicle when it is unattended and
always lock it, even if you are only away for a short time.
“Please report any suspicious behaviour to us as soon as you can, we would much rather attend a false alarm than miss the opportunity to apprehend an offender,” says Sergeant Cappleman.
“People if they can, should try and thwart thieves by protecting their vehicles with anti-theft devices, and or by parking cars in garages or carports.
It’s also wise to install alarms and try and keep valuables out of vehicles if at all possible, he says.”
See more details on our website about how you can keep your vehicle from being stolen: http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/personal-community/protect-property-vehicles
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre