When the holiday shopping season begins and vehicles are filled with presents and high value items, criminals will be window shopping in parking lots looking for easy targets. Have a safe and happy holiday by following these simple tips:

Additional Tips

Placing items (insurance, registration, garage door openers, etc.) in the glove box or under the seat helps but many thieves will check these areas even if they just think you are hiding items.

If you carry these or other items in your car, place them in a small gym type bag and lock them in the trunk of your vehicle when you park it. Then when you come back to your vehicle remove your gym bag from the trunk and your items will be available to you.

All parcels and shopping bags should be locked in the trunk of your vehicle. Many of the newer cars have trunk releases in them; lock the trunk release when you park your car. Thieves will break a window in your car, press the trunk release and now they have everything in your trunk.

REMEMBER: IF THEY CAN’T SEE IT THEY CAN’T STEAL IT

• Auto theft costs Albertans $60 million a year in insurance claims.
• Many vehicles are stolen from parking lots, shopping centres, airports and even residential driveways.

How to protect yourself against vehicle theft:

• Park in a sensible place, avoiding unlit areas at night.
• Remove the ignition key and activate the steering lock.
• Lock your doors and close all windows.
• Hide your valuables out of sight or take them with you.
• Take extra keys out of your vehicle.
• Even on the coldest of Edmonton wintery days, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE UNLOCKED AND RUNNING. Thieves also enjoy driving a warm vehicle.

Common items stolen from vehicles:

• Phones 
• Laptops/Tablets
• Money
• Garage Door Openers
• Radar Detectors
• Shopping Packages
• Purses
• Compact Discs
• Stereos
• Briefcases
• Tools
• Personal Documents