Keeping car crime down Published Nov. 30, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Ingersoll 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Although Americans do not make up 25 percent of the local population in Suffolk, we take up that share of car crimes. Twenty to 30 percent of cars in the base housing area around RAF Lakenheath were unlocked in a recent hot-spot patrol conducted by the British Police Department, according to Police Constable Paul Glover, Community Liaison Officer. Those unlocked cars make easy targets for potential thieves. Unlocked cars create circumstances for crimes of opportunity such as theft of small items like GPS units, MP3 Players, uniforms, registration documents and car stereos. Many criminals walking by will simply check the doors to see if they are unlocked. When they find a car that is, they can steal stuff out of the car in a matter of seconds. Unlocked cars are not the only ones broken into however. Peoples whose cars are locked also fall victim to break-ins and theft, but not as often as unlocked cars. Thieves may walk past a car and see something like a laptop that they want and come back later to steal it by simply breaking a windows or picking the lock. A few things we can all do to keep are personal property safe are, locking the car, don't keep things in your car, and activate the alarm if you have one, according to Police Constable Glover. If you need to leave something in your car, it is best to lock it in the truck so it can't be seen. If these simple practices are applied we may take up less than our share of the crimes.