Car thieves strike in cold temps

Thieves targeting victims heating up unattended vehicles

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An important crime alert that could help prevent you from falling victim to thieves who could be trying to take advantage of this cold weather.

As temps fall, many of us may go outside to heat our cars a few minutes before starting our day but according to police, those actions resulted in several car thefts just last year.

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"It just doesn't seem like that would be a safe thing to do," said Derek Graham.

People warming up their car for just a few minutes before heading to work or while running into a store, is just enough time to become a target, then a victim.

"When your car is warming up, it's unlocked, the keys are in the ignition, the bad guy comes down the road. He wants to be warm too and he steals the vehicle," said Officer Melissa Bujeda from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Bujeda said JSO investigated nearly a dozen of these types of car thefts just last year. All of the victims were just warming up their cars.

"A lot of times they've loaded the car up with a purse, their children stuff, everything they need to start the day and it's all gone. And that may be your only mode of transportation to get to and from work. So you have to think about those things. Is that five minutes of sitting inside your vehicle worth losing your vehicle," said Bujeda.

Some people admitted they've left their cars running.

"I have been a victim of it. As well as making sure my car is warmed up before I get into it," said Danielle Miles.

But others said even if their car is parked in their driveway or in a parking lot at an apartment complex, they're never leaving it alone.

"Criminals are crafty these days and very intelligent. They know exactly what they're doing and they know how to get it quickly," said Jason Hancock.

"Lock it. Lock the vehicle. You have a second set of keys. But it's just not worth the risk of your car being gone," said Bujeda.

If your car is stolen and you come out and it's gone, call the police right away. The faster you get that information to them, the faster they can get it out to the officers on the street and the faster they can look for your vehicle.

Unfortunately, what happens is they don't know the tag number or their vehicle identification number. So they have to call their insurance company or other people to get that information and that time is of the essence to police.