It doesn’t take much to attract thieves to an unattended vehicle. A bit of loose change or even sunglasses can provide the motivation for opportunistic thieves to try the doors or even break a window.
That’s what happened over the long weekend, said Oceanside RCMP Corporal Jesse Foreman, when thieves hit several vehicles parked in Parksville and Qualicum Beach.
“Opportunistic thieves entered vehicles that had items lying around in plain view such as spare change, sunglasses, ipods, laptop computers and other electronics,” Foreman said. “Most of the vehicles were left unlocked, however, if items were visible, thieves did not hesitate to smash windows in order to grab the items they had seen inside.”
Noting it has been less than a month since a similar rash of thefts, Foreman urged drivers to take extra care.
“We all need to work together to avoid further victimization,” he said.
To this end, Foreman urged drivers to park their vehicles in a visible area and to lock it after taking all valuables out, right down to spare change. He suggested going to the extent of leaving the empty glove box and console open, to show there is nothing there to steal.