A simple crime to commit and prevent | News

WOODSTOCK, Ga -- It could be a quiet residential subdivision or it could be a shopping center parking lot. They both present an easy opportunity for a thief to commit a crime. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In one night five cars in the Woodlands subdivision in Woodstock were entered and valuable items were taken from inside. They weren't break-ins, the thieves simply opened car doors that were unlocked. "It's people just checking door handles," said Woodstock Police Officer Mat Dunn. "All they do is walk around checking doors to see if it's open."

It is a crime of simplicity, so easy to prevent and so easy for a thief to pull off. That's why Officer Dunn was trying to get the message across to residents at a shopping center on Highway 92. "I know it sounds trivial, lock your doors," he told one shopper.

As he walked up and down the rows of parked cars Officer Dunn estimated how many would be unlocked. "I'd say at least about 35-40 percent of the cars," he said.

Shopper Jean Wilcox said "I always lock my doors all the time." But admitted she doesn't always take her valuables out of her car.

Unfortunately it is a message that police talk until they're blue in the face. They say there is no other crime that keeps them as busy. "It takes the time away that we could be out there stopping drunk drivers or other crimes," Officer Dunn said.

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