This past week, the Davis Police Department has taken 10 vehicle burglary reports from locations in West Davis (Sycamore Lane, Alvarado Avenue, Arthur Street, Wake Forest Drive), East Davis (San Gallo Terrace) and South Davis (Olive Drive, Chiles Road). Most of the burglaries were accomplished by smashing a window to gain entry.
Stolen items have included backpacks, duffel bags, electronics, sunglasses, wallets and tools.
Many burglaries can be prevented by simply removing the opportunity to steal valuables from your car, police said. Here are some crime-prevention tips to help curb vehicle burglaries:
* Don’t leave valuables in your car — particularly in plain sight. The safest place to keep your valuables while you are out and about is in the trunk of your vehicle.
* If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination.
* Lock all doors and roll up windows even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time.
* Set any alarm or anti-theft device, if you have one.
* Mark your valuables as a last line of defense (this doesn’t prevent theft but it does aid in recovery). Police suggest inscribing or engraving a “personal identifier” on all valuables by using your driver’s license number, prefaced by your state, e.g., CA-U0077139.
* Report suspicious activity such as people walking up and down aisles of parking lots looking into cars or vehicles cruising parking lots and residential neighborhoods at very slow speeds for extended periods while observing parked cars.
* Do not leave a GPS system or satellite radio in plain view, not even the dock.