Rotherham car crime increases

Why on earth are you banging on about cars?

I believe it was that great philosopher Gary Numan who once said “In cars, in cars, in cars. In my car, in my car, in my car, in my car, in cars, in cars, in my car, in my car, in my car, in my car.” Really makes you think doesn’t it.  That may give you a clue as to what I’ll be talking about this month. Nope, not 80s electronic synth pop (although I’d be happy to wax lyrical on that at a later date) but cars.

But hang on, you’re thinking. You’re a locksmith, not a budding Top Gear presenter. Why on earth are you banging on about cars? Have you gone mad? At which point I’d do that “A ha” thing and whip out the following link, http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/thieves-target-high-value-cars-in-doncaster-1-8586423  seen in the Doncaster Star last month.  And then you’d go “Oh, I see, you’re not going mad after all and it’s all beginning to make sense.” And then you might buy me a beer, we’d become friends, and you’d ask me to be the godfather to your children. And at that point I’d hesitate because I’ve got quite a lot on and am not sure if I want that further responsibility, and then I’d remember this is all hypothetical anyway and breathe a sigh of relief.

Targeting high-value cars

So cars, then. As detailed in the Doncaster Star report, there have been a spate of burglaries in the area targeting properties in order to steal the high value cars outside. In reality, this means if the burglar gains access to your property, they will only need to be in there for the few seconds it takes them to locate your car keys, habitually kept on the hall table, and then no matter how sophisticated your car security system is, they’re in your car and driving off before anyone’s even noticed a break in has occurred. Sadly, this has become a common routine recently, but there are things you can do to stop this.

Ideally, of course, your car would be kept in the garage out of the way, so that it isn’t a target for burglars. However, in the real world this often isn’t  realistic, either through lack of a garage (or access to it), or the fact your garage is full of various paint cans, old table tennis tables, discarded tennis racquets and the bodies of all those who have wronged you over the years. So if you’re unable to hide your pride and joy away from prying eyes, what else can you do?

Along with the usual recommendations of having anti-snap locks fitted, getting a locksmith to review your home security etc (all of which I have covered on these pages before), the simple and obvious answer, although so obvious that the number of people who actually do it is ridiculously low, is to not leave your car keys on display. I’ll repeat that again. Do not leave your car keys on display. I’d say it a third and fourth time if it would make a difference. As I’ve also said before, burglars want an easy life – they want to be in and out your house before you can say Jaguar E-Type. Searching the house for keys is not in their plan, especially if the occupants are upstairs and could hear them at any moment. If they can’t find the keys in under a minute, more likely than not they’ll be out of the house and on to the next target. Yes, you’ll still have the traumatic after-effects of someone having been in your house, and the repairs that might need doing, but your car will still be your own.

Are your car keys well hidden?

That’s really all there is to it. The sole reason for this month’s blog is to remind you to hide away your car keys – either take them upstairs with you when you go to bed, or stash them away somewhere a burglar won’t quickly find them. And this does NOT mean the drawer of the hall table – that’s the second place they’ll look after glancing on top of the table.  Your car is generally the second most valuable item you own in purely monetary terms so it’s worth just thinking about how easy it would be for an intruder to take it, given the unfortunate series of break-ins that the area has been currently suffering.