If you live or work in Vancouver and own a car, police are asking you to take more safety precautions after a dramatic uptick in theft.
Theft from vehicles went up 39.5 per cent during the first three months of the year, Vancouver police said Tuesday, compared to the same period in 2017.
“You can take simple steps to help prevent thieves from breaking into your vehicle,” Sgt. Jason Robillard said. “One of the easiest things to do is to avoid leaving anything visible in your car.”
READ MORE: Old Honda Civics, Accords among top stolen cars in Vancouver
Anyone who parks on a street or in a parkade should hide any items of value out of plain sight.
“You may think that an item is not valuable, like a car charger or a jacket, but it might be enough to tempt a thief,” Robillard said.
“The effort it takes to remove all visible items in your car is minimal, when compared to the cost and hassle of replacing a broken car window.”
People can consult the GeoDash website, an interactive mapping tool used by Vancouver police to share information about noticeable crime activity and hotspots.
@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
