Early this year, Wisconsin has experienced a spike of car theft incidents that were due in part of the cold temperature. It sounds absurd, but the local District 7 police saw a 43% increase in motor vehicle thefts and many of them were perpetrated by local students.
Car theft trends
According to the police, the students were lured by the fact that most of those cars were left running by their car owners. Because of the cold weather, local residents were trying to heat their cars, but in that split second they left their cars vulnerable to car theft.
Shellee Lubus, a police officer in District 7 was quoted in JSOnline, a local newspaper stating, “Kids that have to walk to school, they’ll walk through the alleys. They’ll find somebody that’s got their car running left unattended. It’s just a quick, easy way to get to school. They’ll leave the car within a block or two of school. Really, the main reason it’s gone up that dramatically is that people are being lazy,” she said.
Most popular stolen cars in Wisconsin
In 2010 the National Insurance Crime Bureau released data that revealed the cars that were favoured by thieves in the local state;
- 2000 Dodge Caravan
- 1994 Honda Accord
- 1995 Honda Civic
- 1999 Dodge Intrepid
- 1994 Plymouth Voyager
- 1994 Chevrolet full-size pickup
- 1997 Ford Taurus
- 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass/Supreme/Ciera
- 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix
- 1995 Toyota Camry
Car theft tips
Protect yourself from being a victim of car theft and instil a vigilant awareness about your car safety. Always remember to lock your cars at all times. Don’t leave it running while parked, even for a single second. Take out your keys from its ignition. Hide your valuables away from plain sight.
Help spread awareness in your city
With this knowledge in hand, you can help keep your city safe by placing the copyright and trademark protected signs and designs on your property or in your area. You can also make custom sign donations to your local police department and they will disperse them to businesses and in parks and recreation areas. Hide Lock Take started as a proactive crime awareness program in Dallas. It has since become the most successful tool that travels around the country fighting crimes and making a difference. If you want to keep your city safe and educate the citizens let hidelocktake.com be your resource.