Former Thief Warns Holiday Shoppers About Car Break-Ins
By Stan Bush
DENVER (CBS4) - A new video released by the Denver Police Department shows just how easy it is for thieves to break into your car.
In the video, titled "Tips From A Thief: Don't Be A Victim" a former thief responsible for what he says were a large number of car break-ins shows how he destroys car windows and takes bags inside in less than 5 seconds.
"He says 'Count to 5 and I'm gone' ... I think you could probably count to maybe 3 and he's gone," said Denver Police spokesman Doug Schepman.
The video comes as holiday shopping officially begins this week and thousands of shoppers race to stores and malls over the next month.
"It's invaluable information for everyone to see and understand what's going through the mind of a thief and how to avoid being a target," Schepman said.
Police say thieves may already be waiting in the lot you're parking in. The expert who worked with police says he stole thousands of bags pretending to be on the phone while he waited in his car. He was actually monitoring the behavior of people parking or going to their car.
The former thief watched for drivers to try to hide a bag. He says he was reading a driver's body language and if it looked like the driver was stuffing a bag he would break-in no matter what to see what might be inside.
Police always warn to never leave a bag unattended. The former thief expanded on that -- saying don't go back and forth to your car. If thieves are watching the lot they'll see you come and go with new items. The thief recommends making just one trip, and if you can't carry everything you're buying make multiple trips from home, instead of going back and forth from your car to the store.
Police say your best protection is vigilance with extra precautions against crime. Hundreds of vehicle break-ins were reported last year in Denver during the holiday shopping season and Denver police say most of those crimes are impossible to solve.
Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.
