Preventing vehicle break-ins; Collier County Sheriff’s Office weighs in

Vehicle break-ins are a crime of opportunity.

If you leave expensive jewelry in your car, you’re more likely to come back and find a broken window.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office wants to stress the importance of not leaving valuables in plain sight.

Deputies suggest following three easy steps:

• Lock your car
• Hide your valuables
• Take your keys with you

Thieves tend to look through windows to see what’s inside, and your valuables in plain sight provide opportunity for them to break into your vehicle.

The CCSO wants you to know about several recent vehicle break-ins. Thieves got inside by using a tool to punch out door locks or by smashing a window.

“Even though this is a great and very, very safe place, it’s so important to practice common saving practices,” said North Naples District Commander Lt. Tom Orr, “such as locking your vehicles, taking your keys out of the vehicles when you’re locking them and removing any valuables from plain sight within the vehicle.

The CCSO talked to people at Veterans Park, Wednesday, about car thefts and how to stay safe.

“One of the Collier County Sheriff’s [deputies] came up to me while I was playing pickleball and asked me if I would just talk about the safety of the parking here,” said Michael Raab, a Naples resident, “a couple of little tests that we’ve had in the past few years and what we can do to prevent, you know, if someone looks suspicious at the park.”

CCSO says 9 vehicles have been broken into in parks so far this year.

That doesn’t sound like a lot, but nine incidents could mean multiple cars at different parks in the area.

“It’s safe, but we certainly want you to take the same safety practice if you went anywhere else,” Orr said.

He said vehicle break-ins should be a reminder for you not to leave valuables in plain sight or, better yet, take them with you.