Car security has improved significantly in the past few years and although crime statistics against vehicles have indeed fallen, vehicle theft still happens. Car crimes show a tendency to be more opportunity based these days. Car thieves usually target vehicle’s that are unattended with high value items on display. In this article, we give some useful hints and tips on how to keep your car safe and secure.
Be On Your Guard
In order to protect your vehicle, it’s crucial for you to make life as difficult as possible for car thieves. To do this, you should always keep valuable items out of sight. This is important as you want to draw as little attention to your car as possible. Having items such as sat navs, smartphones etc. in view can often give thieves an incentive to break into your vehicle.
It’s also important to keep your car’s doors and boot locked and windows fully closed. This may seem obvious, but surprisingly people still leave their cars unlocked and unattended. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Park Safely
Parking safety is essential when it comes to keeping your car secure. Once parked, always make sure to remove the key from the ignition and take it with you, even if you’re just leaving the car for a minute. Don’t give thieves the opportunity.
When parking in a public car park, try your best to take your valuable items with you as opposed to leaving them in your car. If you need to leave them in your car, as mentioned above, have your valuables locked away out of sight – preferably before you actually park your vehicle, incase the car park is being watched.
If you are locking a laptop in your vehicle, always make sure to properly turn it off – don’t just leave it on standby. Some car thieves use devices to scan for wifi signals coming from laptops to determine which car is best to break into.
Choosing a Car Park
Car parks are a significant risk to your vehicle’s safety, as this is where most car thieves operate. Choosing the correct car park is an important part to keeping your vehicle safe, so choose wisely. Always choose a car park that is part of the “Secured Car Park” police scheme. This scheme aims to improve security in and around car parks by setting high prevention standards. Try to choose a spot which is well-lit, has security cameras and preferably has staff on duty.
Security Features
Make security features a high priority in your vehicle. Nowadays, the majority of cars come with pre-fitted alarms. If your vehicle doesn’t, consider having have one fitted.
For valuable cars, it may be an idea to have an anti-theft tracking device fitted. These devices alert the vehicle’s owner that the car has been stolen, as well help the police track the car down.
