| For more than 10 years there has been a
bigger rise in car crime than in most other types of crime. An average of more
than two cars a minute are broken into, vandalized (破坏) or stolen in the UK. Car
crime accounts for almost a third of all reported offences with no signs that
the trend is slowing down. Although there are highly professional criminals involved in car theft, almost 90 percent of car crime is committed by the opportunist. Amateur thieves are aided by our carelessness. When the Automobile Association (AA) engineers surveyed one town centre car park last year, 10 percent of cars checked were unlocked, a figure backed up by a Home Office national survey that found 12 percent of drivers sometimes left their cars unlocked. The vehicles are sitting in petrol stations while drivers pay for their fuel. The AA has discovered that cars are left unattended for an average of three minutes and sometimes much longer as drivers buy drinks, cigarettes and other consumer items and then pay at the counter. With payment by credit card more and more common, it is not unusual for a driver to be out of his car as long as six minutes providing the car thief with a golden opportunity. In an exclusive AA survey, carried out at a busy garage on a main road out of London, 300 motorists were questioned over three days of the holiday period. 24 percent admitted that they "always" or "sometimes" leave the keys in the car. This means that nationwide, a million cars daily become easy targets for the opportunist thief. The AA recommends locking up whenever you leave the car--and for however short a period. A partially open sunroof or window is a further come-on to thieves. Leaving valuables in view is an invitation to the criminal. A Manchester probationary (假释期) service research project, which interviewed almost 100 car thieves last year, found many would investigate a coat thrown on a seat. Never leave any documents showing your home address in the car. If you have a garage, use it and lock it--a garaged car is at substantially less risk. There are many other traps to avoid. The Home Office has found little awareness among drivers about safe parking. Most motorists questioned made no efforts to avoid parking in quiet spots away from street lights just the places thieves love. The AA advises drivers to park in places with people around m thieves do not like audiences. |