Cell phone forgotten in vehicle. Photo Credit: Alberta RCMP

By Shane Clausing

Lock your doors

RCMP reminding Albertans to lock vehicles and remove valuables

Aug 5, 2020 | 1:53 PM

RCMP jurisdictions across the province are reminding Albertans to keep their vehicles locked and to keep any valuables out of sight while away from those vehicles.

Mounties says that August through October are the highest months for both vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles in the province, with August being the month that sees the highest rate of thefts.

“There’s no specific reason as to why August seems to be the primary month (for vehicle thefts and theft from vehicles) other than everyone seems to be out and about, the weather’s nice and it just seems to be that target month,” explained Jennifer Kee with the Alberta RCMP.

Last year, the month of August saw over 1,000 reports of motor vehicles stolen and over 1,300 reported thefts from vehicles.

Kee tells EverythingGP that motor vehicle thefts often happen as a result of people leaving an extra set of keys inside their vehicles.

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“We understand the rationale behind having a spare set of keys inside the vehicle, but that seems to be one of the biggest triggers for why the vehicles are getting stolen, with 26 per cent of them getting stolen with their spare set of keys left inside.”

Eight per cent of vehicles that were stolen in 2019 were left running with the keys inside the ignition. There were close to 10,000 vehicles stolen throughout the province last year.

There were also 12,200 reported thefts from motor vehicles in 2019. Kee says that these are preventable and it’s important to not leave anything of value in your vehicle.

“Typically, we are finding that anything in plain sight is getting taken. That mean’s sunglasses, spare change, and electronics. If you’re just running into the store and you happen to have a laptop or a cell phone and you leave it inside the vehicle, that’s going to be a trigger for them to take that.”

Kee also wanted to stress that vehicle thefts and item thefts can also happen at home.

Forgetting to do something like closing your garage door, or removing your valuables while at home could make your vehicle susceptible to theft and it could be more harmful than you think.

“What that can lead to is a break and enter into your residence. What’s happening is that they’re (the thief) breaking into your vehicle and a lot of people leave their insurance and registration documents inside their vehicles. They’re getting a hold of those, they now know your address, they’ll have the garage door opener to your residence and they also at that time know you are not at home.”

“We are asking that you keep documents on your person and your garage opener with you, as opposed to leaving it in plain view inside the vehicle.”

RCMP want to remind residents that if you see anything suspicious to please contact RCMP or Crime Stoppers.