Your wallet is in the centre console.

You have left the car unlocked and your wallet unsecured because you believe or have done one or more of the following;

I shouldn’t have to lock the car. In the old days we never had to lock our cars or houses and nothing was ever taken.

If I leave the door unlocked then the crooks won’t break the window.

This is a good area, nothing ever happens here.

I’ve never locked the car and nothing has happened yet.

What is your excuse when your car is entered and your wallet stolen?

Try these ones;

I thought I locked it.

I always bring my wallet in.

My key must have malfunctioned

I don’t know how they got in, they must have an electronic gadget.

The funny thing about all this is the fact that these excuses are not made up.

They have all been used to justify why the vehicle owner left his/her vehicle and property unsecured.

Vehicle entered and wallet stolen. What now?

Now that your wallet/purse has been stolen the crook is off to the shops, the only restrictive factor to his/her shopping spree is how many cards you have in your wallet.

Usually smokes and intoxicating liquor is purchased in copious amounts using your funds until the transaction limit is reached, the card runs out of funds or the card is cancelled.

Report to police: Once you wake up the next morning and have your breakfast, bacon and eggs with possibly a couple of hash browns on the side, you go out to your car.

You notice that the front door is opened and the interior is a mess.

Your wallet is nowhere to be seen. OMG!.

Now you will have to replace your cards, drivers licence, Medicare card and every other important card that you have, not to mention saying goodbye to any cash that was in the wallet.

It’s going to be such a drama getting all the cards replaced.

You don’t really have time for this. First things first, report the matter to police.

Investigation: Police initiate the investigation and CCTV is collected.

CCTV is viewed, statements obtained and other evidence looked at.

If an offender is identified he /she is charged. The charge would usually be fraud.

If the crook pleads not guilty then there is usually a trip to the Nowra Local Court to give evidence.

This generally would occur at least a couple of months after the incident.

You would have to take a day off work for the court matter.

If you haven’t been to court before you would probably have a few sleepless nights on the lead up to the day.

Crime statistics: We all are interested in the crime statistics within our own community.

The lower the better. We feel safe when crime is down.

In the above scenario a vehicle has been entered (offence 1) your wallet has been stolen (offence 2) your cards have been used in let’s say six shops or online purchases, (offence 3,4,5,6,7,8) might I add if the offenders have purchased items from overseas on the internet there is little to no chance that the offender will be easily identified if at all.

If you have two cards stolen there could be double the purchases (offence 9,10,11,12,13,14). How are the crime statistics looking now.

If this scenario occurs even two times a week how do you think people are viewing the Shoalhaven as a place to go for a holiday or to live.

Conclusion:  So, from leaving the door unlocked in your vehicle, you have contributed to crime statistics more than you know.

Through your neglect and lack of security surrounding your valuables the perception of crime in our community will be higher than it ought to be.

If you lock your car every time and remove your valuables every time, you will be on the cutting edge of crime prevention.

Crime will go down immediately and opportunities for the crooks to commit offences will dry up. Please be a responsible member of the community and please LOCK YOUR CAR!

Instructions to locking your vehicle:

There are a number of ways to lock your vehicle.

One way is to insert the car key, into the door lock of your vehicle and turn either clockwise or anti clockwise until the button in the door clicks or goes down.

Check that door is locked by pulling the door handle. If the door does not open the door is locked.

Another way to lock the car door is to press the button that has a padlock image on your key FOB until a “clunk” is heard.

Then check that the door is locked by using the method previously described.

One way to remove your valuables such as a wallet is to pick up the wallet, put it in your pocket or alternatively if you have a purse, pick it up and carry it away from the car, remembering to lock the car before you go.

That’s all the excitement for this week.

As always, in case of an emergency call 000. In non-emergencies call the Policelink on 131 444 or your local police station. To provide anonymous information call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. For domestic and family violence information, visit www.police.nsw.gov.au. For Shoalhaven Domestic Violence officers call 4421 9666 or 4421 9665  or email shoaldvlo@police.nsw.gov.au.

Don’t forget, cops are tops.