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The original item was published from 11/29/2016 10:25:22 AM to 1/1/2017 12:00:04 AM.

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Posted on: November 29, 2016

[ARCHIVED] "Lock Your Doors" Campaign


The Rock Island Police Department announces the “Lock Your Doors” campaign reminding residents to lock the doors to their vehicles, homes, and garages to prevent thieves from entering and stealing valuables. A recent crime trend involves suspects travelling to random residential neighborhoods where they target multiple unlocked vehicles, garages, and homes. The vast majority of these burglaries involve “crimes of opportunity” in which thieves simply case neighborhoods, looking for unlocked vehicles and open garages. The trend also reveals that the thieves are stealing vehicles during the commission of these burglaries, which they will utilize to travel from neighborhood to neighborhood or city to city, where they will commit another series of burglaries and abandon the stolen vehicle for another. In all recent cases, each stolen vehicle has involved the owner leaving the vehicle unlocked and the keys in the vehicle. In response to these burglaries, the Rock Island Police Department has been increasing foot, bicycle, and motorized patrols, conducting surveillance details, and canvassing neighborhoods with informational flyers to increase awareness. The public can better safeguard themselves by ensuring their vehicle doors are locked when parked, removing all keys from inside of their vehicles, and securing any valuables out of view or in the trunk of the vehicle so as to not provide a better target for thieves. Additionally, be sure to call immediately if you see any suspicious subjects or activity to better allow for a prompt response. If anyone has information related to these types of cases, please contact the Rock Island Police Department at (309) 732-2677 or Crimestoppers at (309) 762-9500.

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