FORT SMITH, Ark — As the temperature drops and the nights get longer, it’s a good time to brush up on car security and safety. In the past month, 5NEWS has reported multiple stories of car theft. While coverage may bring more theft to your attention, does that mean more car theft is actually happening?
The Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) said that’s not necessarily the case and there aren’t record-breaking thefts happening, rather a seasonal increase.
“There are no trends that we seat this time any different than our normal crime patterns. We do encourage people you’re really your own best prevention when it comes to keeping people out of your vehicle that sort of thing,” Public Information Officer for FSPD Aric Mitchell said.
FSPD said it’s important to be your own line defense against car left, with the most common and easiest way for thieves to get cars is leaving the car running, unattended.
“We do try to every holiday season, it seems like it starts around, we try to remind people not to do that don’t start your car to warm it up and leave it sitting cause it only takes a couple of seconds for someone who’s been casing neighborhood to come upon a vehicle that’s running and just jump in it and take off. That’s actually very common when it comes to car theft,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell adds that investing in security technology in your car can help in an unfortunate event and work as a second line of defense against thieves.
During the holiday season, remember when shopping to secure gifts and bags in your car so thieves don’t get tempted to break in.
It’s important to remember to always lock your car doors, take out personal items and keep valuables out of sight.