Report cards left on local vehicles

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A program underway by the Houston Police Department is aimed at reducing car burglaries on the west side.

Officers are sharing safety tips with business owners and shoppers in the Spring Branch area. A meeting was held today at an H-E-B off the Katy Freeway near Bunker Hill.

The number one crime in Houston involves breaking and entering of a car. Roughly 1,500 cases of someone having their car broken into are filed each month.

In an attempt to get drivers to be more aware of what's going on and to prevent more drivers from becoming victims. The HPD northwest division was handing out report cards to motorist, letting them know if they had passed or failed HPD's quick check of their car.

Burglary of a motor vehicle is a crime of opportunity and most owners may be enticing thieves by leaving items out. The majority of the cars parked outside the H-E-B failed on the report card.

"There is clearly a lot of things in this car that if a person was too look in here they would say, 'Oh my goodness, I'm going to go in here and take that toolbox'," said Officer E. Hall with the Houston Police Department, showing us one car he left with an 'F' grade. "So this one here fails, also."

"You see radar detectors. You see cell phones. You see laptops. You see bags and that is just saying 'take me'," said Officer A. Cegielski with the Houston Police Department.

The point that officers wanted everyone to walk away with by issuing these report cards is that you need to lock up your items and bags and not have them in clear view. Don't leave any items sitting out on the floorboard or seats and to even put away that loose change to help keep unwanted thieves from breaking into your vehicles.

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