29
Jun
2013
By Calvin at 09:13 GMT, 12 years ago
Eight Sat navs, 11 handbags, 3 mobile phones and an Army uniform were just some of the items left on show in customer and staff vehicles parked in Sainsbury’s car park in Hatch Warren, Basingstoke.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Community Safety Patrol Officers (CSPOs) were at the car park on Sunday June 16, as part of a crackdown on vehicle crime across Basingstoke and Deane.
Of those vehicles checked, many had valuable items left on full view, which is a gift to the opportunist thief. The officers left information leaflets about car security on those vehicles with items on display.
Other items spotted included 11 sets of house keys, 8 rucksacks, 3 DVD players, 3 MP3 players and 2 sets of golf clubs. They also spotted cash, sunglasses, a camera, a briefcase and a full bag of shopping from The Perfume Shop. It seems the only thing not on the list was a cuddly toy!
TCPW Comment: These types of patrols are designed to make people think about how they are actively contributing to the crime statistics and I wish there were more of them (targeted crime prevention patrols, that is). I also like the fact that the officers left leaflets on the cars of those who hadn’t thought things through and, just as importantly, the local press ran a story about it too.
This type of initiative recognises something called the ‘crime triangle’. In its simplest terms, the three apexes of the triangle are labelled ‘Offender’, ‘Victim’ and ‘Opportunity’ with the word ‘crime’ written in the middle of the triangle, indicating that you need all three to come together before you can have a crime.
In this instance the offender is a thief in need standing by the car, the victim is a person pushing a shopping trolley round Sainsburys and the opportunity is the side window of the car (usually silently breaking toughened glass) and the handbag sitting on the front seat. All these things are happening at the same time and ‘bingo’, another crime statistic!
Knowing that there are people around who have problems in their lives and who cannot resist the temptation to make a few quid when the opportunity is smacking them in the face, this important work by Hampshire Constabulary, yet again, reminds us that we are sometimes as much to blame for crime as the thieves who submit to the temptation to commit it. Controversial? I don’t think so.
Let’s simply stop making it easy for thieves – it’s a sort of public duty – don’t you think?
Original source: Hampshire Constabulary: http://www.hampshire.police.uk/internet/news-and-appeals/2013/june/basingstoke-vuln-vehicle
This is Hampshire.net: http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/10514564.Police_patrols_spot_valuable_items_on_view_in_cars/
Motor vehicle security advice: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/vehicle-and-bike-security/505/motor-vehicle-security/
