By Maria Gray
LAPD West Los Angeles Division Senior Lead Officer
It has become a common and unfortunate practice for some folks that live in apartments or condominiums to leave their keys inside their vehicle in cases where tandem parking is necessary (parking directly behind another car when space is limited).
Although it makes it a bit more convenient to switch around cars, it’s a terrible habit to get into and one that recently contributed to an ongoing series of break-ins.
In this case, the suspects had great successes in taking advantage of people leaving their keys in their cars or on their tires and consequently, repeatedly returned to the property to commit more and more thefts.
If your family or neighbors are engaged in this type of practice, please consider the message that it sends out to the bad guys that take advantage of this practice.
It tells them that your building is an easy mark and if they want more stuff to steal without difficulty, come on back.
