Durango Police urge residents to lock their cars in the wake of a dramatic increase in car thefts and car burglaries.
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Durango Police urge
residents to lock their cars
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following a dramatic
increase in car thefts
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and burglaries in town.
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You're watching the Local News Network
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brought to you by Tafoya
Barrett and Associates,
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and Kroegers ACE Hardware.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
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A rash of car thefts and
thefts of items from cars,
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has prompted Durango
Police to warn residents
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to lock their cars when unattended.
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Durango Police Sergeant Tim Dixon
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said car thefts increased
by 50% in 2020 over 2019.
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And as of the first two months of 2021,
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car thefts are on track
to more than double
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if the trend continues.
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In 2019, thieves stole 36 cars,
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in 2020, the number jumped to 54.
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And during January and February this year,
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10 cars had been stolen.
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Similarly, reports of
items stolen from cars
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jumped 130% in 2020 over 2019.
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Police received 74 reports of
items taken from cars in 2019,
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compared with 174 reports in 2020.
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Dixon didn't have statistics
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for the first two months of 2021.
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Almost all the incidents
were crimes of opportunity,
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because the cars were left unlocked,
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or the keys were left in an unlocked car.
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Dixon urges residents to lock your cars
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every time you leave them unattended,
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even if they're parked in your driveway.
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Before you go in for the
night, before you go to bed,
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make sure your car's locked,
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make sure things are secured,
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make sure your house is secure.
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And just go through that process,
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and it plays a huge role
in crime prevention.
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All those thefts from
vehicles that I mentioned,
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rarely, rarely do we ever have
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a vehicle where a window is broken out
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to gain entry into that vehicle,
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usually, the vehicle's left unlocked.
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So, at least no property
damage is occurring
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because of that, if there's a bright side,
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but we are making it too easy for thieves
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to take our property.
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Likewise, with stolen cars and vehicles,
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rarely do we see vehicles
getting hotwired anymore
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to steal them, usually,
there is a key accessible
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For other safety tips,
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visit the police department's
website at durangogov.org,
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or like the department
on its Facebook page.
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Thanks for watching this edition
of the Local News Network.
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Be sure to stay on top of
the latest news stories
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that we release through
Twitter, Instagram,
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or on our website.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
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