TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Thefts are on the rise, and the Terre Haute Police Department wants to make sure people and their valuables are safe.
Lt. Justin Sears with the THPD said there can be several things that people can do to help make sure they don’t have their property stolen. From things like having neighbors pick up your deliveries at home if you won’t be there in time, or having the delivery driver take the package to a safer destination. Something else the THPD said that can be helpful are things like ring cameras or motion detection lights, because that allows you to see the criminal in action.
“Once you interact with them, that’s usually going to change their mindset or try to change their mode of operation for that point,” Sears said. “So you could definitely deter a crime from happening. Avoid the conflict, but just to ask them what they’re doing, tell them to get off your porch. Nobody wants to be seen, especially with security cameras, but with lighting. The lighting prevents a lot, whether it’s in your backyard or the alley, the front porch, motion lights, all those things are good things to have.”
He also said to make sure you take everything out of your car because usually someone will try to break in because they saw something worth stealing.
“I’ve seen very few times where somebody’s actually broken a window just to see if something was valuable in there,” Sears said. “They broke the window or damaged a door because they saw a computer, a purse, or cash. So do yourself a favor and lock your car; don’t leave anything in plain sight. If you see anything suspicious, call us. That’s what we’re here for. Give our detectives a chance, our patrolmen a chance to get your property back for ya.”
One other thing that can help is taking photos of the serial number of your valuables, so that in the event they are stolen, it will be easier for officers to identify the item if they can find the suspect or stolen property.
