Thieves Look to Steal Your Packages, Valuables and Personnel Information – Don’t Help Them Succeed
We’ve sent out reminders, we’ve all heard the warnings, but we continue to receive reports of predatory thieves taking advantage of easy “opportunities”.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Spokane Valley Police would like to urge you to limit these opportunities. Please take steps to protect your valuables, package deliveries, future gift purchases, and your identity. As the holiday season is fast approaching, don’t let these thieves seize an opportunity to take your joy and happiness.
Criminals continue to prowl our streets, parking lots, and neighborhoods just looking for a mistake to capitalize upon. A purse left on a car seat, a cell phone in a cupholder, a wallet in the center console, packages left unattended on a front porch, bags of recently purchased items left in a car parked at a shopping center, unsecured mail with personnel or banking information, and the list goes on and on.
They’ve shown they don’t care about the pain and difficulty they might cause you, your family, or your friends. They are only interested in stealing what they can when the opportunity is presented. It can be during a vehicle prowl, burglary, mail theft, package theft, in addition to a myriad of other crimes.
Please look after your neighbors by reporting suspicious activity, vehicles with license plate if safely possible, and take steps to limit a criminal’s ability to make easy prey of your valuables or personal information.
- Lock your cars and remove items of value or at a minimum, keep them out of sight, such as securing them in a locked trunk.
- Don’t leave your vehicle running unattended while it warms up. Cold hands are far better to deal with than what you will go through if your car is stolen, especially if personal information or valuables are left inside.
- If you have packages being delivered, schedule a time for them to be delivered when your home. Have them delivered to a family member or neighbor you trust that will be home, provide special delivery instructions where packages can be left out of sight or in a secured lockbox. Install a video doorbell or security system that will alert you when someone is on the porch, letting you know when a package has arrived and needs to be picked up. Also, you can check with your employer to see if personal packages can be delivered there, while you are working.
ALWAYS, report suspicious activity to Crime Check at 509-456-2233 or 911 if you observe a crime in progress.
Last, but not least, visit our Crime Prevention webpage for additional information http://www.spokanecounty.org/1376/Crime-Prevention-Unit
- Contact Spokane Valley Police Crime Prevention Deputy Chris Johnston at 509-477-2592
- Contact Spokane County Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Deputy David Morris at 509-477-6044