Crime prevention: ‘Believe it or not, the easiest way is to make sure your car is locked.’

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - As we enter the month of March, we spoke with the Lawton Police Department about how you can prevent thieves from stealing stuff from your car. 35 people have reported car break-ins to Lawton police since the beginning of the year.

Chris Blessing, the public information officer for the Lawton Police Department, said there’s a simple way to stop criminals.

“Believe it or not, the easiest way is to make sure your car is locked,” he said. “Little do you know that people do go around, and all they do is check door handles, and if it’s locked, they move on to the next vehicle and check that vehicle out.”

Now if you’re not in the habit just yet of locking your doors as soon as you get out of the car, he recommends doing what’s called the nine p.m. routine.

“Every night at 9 p.m., make sure your car doors are locked, make sure that your exterior doors to your house are locked, make sure that if you have exterior lights that they’re on,” Blessing said.

Also, keeping valuables out of your car and out of sight can keep people from wanting to break in.

“You work hard for your belongs, you work hard for what you pay for, and it’s not only ethically wrong but also wrong in the sense that it’s getting taken from you,” Blessing said.

If you fall victim, he asks that you file a report to let the police department know. At the very least, it alerts police to what’s happening and helps track trends in criminal activity.

“Let us investigate it,” he said. “Sometimes, it might turn up to be a dead end. We can’t chase ghosts, but we just stress and urge the public to please report it because it’s our job to investigate it and apprehend these criminals. So they don’t victimize somebody else.”

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