CCOP is working with Captain Bob Moser of Mission Police Station and San Francisco SAFE to alert the public in the Castro and surrounding area of an increase in the number of vehicle break-ins and vehicle thefts. Together we want to get the word out, to you and your neighbors, and to offer some simple common sense tips to minimize the chance of your vehicle being targeted.
DISCOURAGE THIEVES BY
- Install an alarm and keep it well maintained. Some alarms will even text you when it is activated.
- Install a “Low Jack” or similar electronic GPS tracking device to allow police to track and locate your vehicle if it is ever stolen.
- Lock all doors, activate your vehicle and close all windows and sun roofs when you leave your vehicle, even just for a “short moment.” NEVER leave your keys in the ignition when leaving your vehicle. Do so even when you vehicle is parked in your own garage at home.
- Park in security patrolled garages when possible. If not possible, seek out well travelled and well lit areas to park in. Look for broken auto-glass on the ground when you park. If you see it, consider moving your vehicle to a street which doesn’t show signs of prior vehicle break-ins.
- Removable stereo systems should never be left in a vehicle.
- Report any, and all, suspicious people in your neighborhood, or in the area where you parked your vehicle. Anyone walking along next to vehicles and peering into each. Anyone on the roadside on a bicycle or in a vehicle doing the same thing.
- Install security cameras at home to survey your property and the street.
- Form a neighborhood watch and post safety zone signs in your street.
Report all break-ins and thefts to the San Francisco Police Department at 415-553-0123, or at any district police station, or online at www.sfgov.org/police.
If you observe a crime in progress, then call 9-1-1 immediately and provide as much information as you can to the emergency dispatcher.