Police – Please lock your cars!

I know I’m shouting and I don’t mean to sound cross, although I am furious at whatever low-life is currently trawling our neighbourhoods in the middle of the night stealing possessions out of unlocked cars.

I completely understand how it happens. You have a long work day, often a long drive home and all you want to do is get in the house, put your feet up and relax. The last thing anyone thinks about is the stuff they left in their car. I mean, the car is in your own driveway, so it’s safe, right? Unfortunately, a fairly substantial number of local people are finding out that our quiet neighbourhoods are being visited by some unscrupulous rat-bag who clearly thinks nothing about coming into a front yard and rifling through the contents of those unlocked cars.

Last week alone, Warkworth, Snells Beach and Algies Bay have all had multiple offences like those I have outlined. Wallets, bags, electronics and, in one case, a baby’s car seat have all been stolen and the common denominator seems to be that the cars were unlocked. In cases like this, the most basic prevention is simply to lock your car, which will make all the difference.

Additionally, if you see something that looks unusual then call the Police to check it out. I say this because one of the victims of this recent car looting actually saw torchlight in his driveway in the middle of the night, but thought it was just another member of the family outside, and went back to bed.

Feedback

Now onto something completely different. In my last column I asked if you had any questions. Brenda asked about what the Police do about cars dumped on the side of the road. To answer your question, Brenda, the first thing we do with an abandoned car on the roadside is evaluate if there are any safety concerns. Is the car a potential hazard to other road users? If the answer is ‘yes’, then it is immediately towed to a place of safety.

If the car is legally parked, but has not been moved for several days and has been the subject of complaint or a public query, then the Police will usually make enquiry with the registered owner to establish if they have intended to leave the car at that location. If the registered owner enquiry is a dead-end, and the car has clearly been abandoned, then the details are passed on to either Auckland Council for local roads or NZTA for a state highway. Both council and NZTA have a mandatory period that must pass before they remove the abandoned car. Cars taken in this manner are usually scrapped.

Thanks for your question, Brenda, and if anyone else has a question that they’d like to ask their local Police, send it to: Mark.Stallworthy@police.govt.nz and I’ll give you an honest, local, ‘grass-roots’ level answer. Give it a go.

Stay safe.