People are creatures of habit.
Take the addict for instance ... such a person cannot help themselves from the actions they undertake to satisfy their personal desires, whether it is drink, tobacco or the theft of another person’s property for a substance that they crave.
While no disrespect is meant, the same can be true for a person who chooses to do something out of convenience, whether it is leaving one’s keys in the ignition, relying on a smart phone to remember important dates, et cetera.
The message delivered to County of Barrhead councillors at their Oct. 3 meeting by RCMP Sgt. Bob Dodds was much the same as it has been for months; motor-vehicle thefts continue to rise despite the constant warnings that keys being left in vehicles are the majority of the problem.
Unfortunately, the message is not being taken to heart.
Dodds maintains that despite the arrests, the number of vehicle thefts is expected to top 100 by the end of the year.
Worse yet, he says, is the audacity of the criminals themselves.
Violence, Dodds says, is not entirely out of the question for would-be thieves either.
As one county resident learned the hard way, by way of a conversation with an individual who forced his way into the man’s home armed with a crowbar and demanding the keys to the resident’s vehicle.
The truth is, many of these thefts occur while a farmer looks on — in broad daylight no less — while the owners are powerless to do anything as they are acres away.
However, not all of these crimes occur during the day.
Stephani Motors lost four brand new vehicles in a single night and Dodds says the record for the area is six vehicle thefts, or attempted thefts, in a single day.
Barrhead’s top cop says the majority of these thefts are committed out of convenience, as the perpetrators often need to get from point A to point B and what better way than to borrow your car or truck?
Unfortunately, not all of the vehicles are recovered and we can only speculate that they have been chopped up, the parts sold to the highest bidder.
Whether you are a town resident or a county resident, whether you complain that the police are not doing enough to combat the problem or not, the majority of the onus lies on those of us who leave our keys in the vehicle.
The sad reality is we can no longer afford to be lax in the protection of our assets.
Imagine how the owner of the stolen vehicle from Lloydminster feels knowing their truck was involved in a collision that killed three women from Edmonton.
Enough is enough.
Stop leaving your keys in the ignition.
