Protect your vehicle

Why are vehicles stolen? There are many answers. They are sold in their entirety or parts; are used for transportation and abandoned; are used in other crimes; Vehicle Identification Numbers are altered (and the vehicles are then sold to unsuspecting persons) or they are stolen for insurance fraud. For whatever the reason, your vehicle may be targeted by a criminal but you can take some steps to protecting it. · Always turn off the engine, take the keys with you and lock your doors. · Park in well lit areas. · Keep parcels, change or valuables in the trunk and out of sight. · Turn wheels to one side to make it difficult to tow. · Don't leave your vehicle running to warm up or to keep warm, you are only inviting theft. · If you have a garage, park your locked car in it. Park front wheel drive cars front end first. Use your emergency brake. · Never leave ownership or licence documents in the car, BUT have them with you when driving. · Drop a business card or address label down door panels to assist police in identifying you as the vehicle's owner. · Never hide a spare key on your vehicle. · Avoid vehicle ID or an address label on your keys. · When buying a used vehicle, if the deal is too good to be true, IT IS! · Keep a record of the year, make, model, colour, VIN number, licence plate number, and any other identifying marks or features in a safe place. If your vehicle is stolen, report it immediately to police. You may want to consider using ignition or fuel-kill switches, steering wheel, tire, hood or gearshift locks, collars, clubs, alarms and tracking systems. Contact me personally for crime prevention tips at 905878-5511 ext. 2470, or by e-mailing chris.borak@hrps.on.ca. Please reserve the 911 system for emergency calls only. (Const. Chris Borak is the community support officer for District 1)