Lock your car doors.

Park your car in the most safe, visible and lighted locations possible.

Don’t leave valuables in your vehicle, especially where they can be clearly seen.

Pay attention to your surroundings.

Report suspicious behavior.

In short, use some common sense.

People should be extra careful in how they park and maintain their vehicles.

AWith holiday shopping near, more vehicles will be targeted in coming weeks.

Law enforcement cannot be everywhere all the time and the authorities cannot assign an officer to watch your car around the clock.

You must take some responsibility and help protect your own property.

Authorities have suspects in the recent rash of car break-ins but there have been no arrests yet.

And there are more people out there looking inside cars for valuables to steal. These kinds of crimes of opportunity are not going to go away.

Don’t make it easy for them.

Sometimes, unbelievably, it is so easy for them that all they have to do is see you get out of your car, see the money in the console, the purse in the seat or the iPad in the floorboard, wait until you get out of eyesight, casually walk up to your car, open the unlocked door, bend over, pick up what is in plain sight and then casually walk away with your stuff. They don’t even have to run.

You made it easy for them.

The other thing that needs to be said is there are people reading this who know, who at least suspect, who it is that is getting into cars and stealing stuff.

Report it.

You are not being their friend by hiding their lawless behavior. If they find they can get away with these crimes, they will escalate their behavior, continue in a downward spiral and end up in prison or the grave.

If you see something, say something.