As winter begins to set down its roots in the Peace Country for the next six months, Grande Prairie RCMP is reminding residents across the region to not leave their cars running unattended to heat up.
RCMP Sgt. Shawn Graham says as cold mornings become the norm, it’s tempting to turn your vehicle on to get warmed up. However, he adds the majority of car thefts are crimes of opportunity, and it doesn’t take very long for that opportunity to get seized.
“Sometimes there are keys left in them, and they’re unlocked, and that just makes for a crime of opportunity for somebody to go out and steal the vehicle,” he says.
“If you have command starts, it certainly does help, because a lot of times that disables the vehicle. But, if you don’t need to, but, vehicles don’t really need to be started for a long time prior to them being driven,” he adds.
“Sometimes we are going to start our vehicles ahead of time, if you can use command start, you do not want to leave your keys in the vehicle,” he adds.
Graham adds there is traditionally an uptick in thefts of and from motor vehicles at the start of the winter season, but there are additional ways for residents to protect themselves from becoming victims of crime, and that includes keeping valuables out of sight.
“You always want to have your vehicles locked, nothing in the vehicle that could allow access into your home, like a garage door opener, spare keys, etc.”
Overnight temperatures in Grande Prairie are expected to remain well below average, with lows dipping into double digits below zero until at least the start of next week, according Environment Canada.
