(St. John’s, NL), September 21, 2018 – The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) General Investigation Unit is offering tips to the public to help protect against automobile theft on the Northeast Avalon.

The RNC’s General Investigation Unit continues to receive complaints of automobile theft where the suspects are finding vehicle keys inside of the unlocked vehicle or in other vehicles parked in driveways. We are stressing the importance of securing your vehicle and never leaving the vehicle’s key inside of the vehicle or in commonly known ‘hiding places’ such as in the visor or under seats. Some tips the public can follow to protect their vehicle against theft and break-ins include:

• Always secure your vehicle’s doors and keep windows up;
• Never leave valuables in plain sight inside of your vehicle and store anything that could attract the attention of a would-be thief in the trunk;
• Never store any keys to your home, your vehicle, or other vehicles in your vehicle;
• Be cautious leaving remote openers for garage doors inside of vehicles as they make for an easy entry into your home;

The vast majority of vehicle thefts that investigators are seeing do not involve forceful entry and/or ‘hot wiring.’ In most cases, keys are being found inside of the vehicle or another vehicle in the driveway. Most vehicle thefts in our jurisdiction are crimes of opportunity and rarely a targeted criminal event.

By following these easy tips, we believe that members of the public can better protect themselves against auto-thefts and help reduce property crimes occurring in our community.

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Cst. Geoffrey G. Higdon #819
Media Relations / Social Media Officer
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
1 Fort Townshend, St. John’s, NL, A1C-2G2
Twitter: @RNC_PoliceNL
Facebook: RoyalNewfoundlandConstabulary
709-729-8658