Car Burglaries Increase Dramatically

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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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