Holiday Burglary Suppression Detail in Full Swing

Auto and home burglaries impact cities everywhere, including Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale’s Holiday Burglary Suppression Detail began on Monday, Dec. 2 and will last through the holidays. The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) put together a team of officers who’ll be specifically focusing on burglary enforcement efforts.

Preventing thieves from victimizing the community takes teamwork and while Sunnyvale DPS is out doing their part, they ask that you do yours too. Please help fight auto burglaries by practicing these tips:

• Don’t leave valuables in your car. That sounds like “common sense”, but drivers/passengers do leave items of value in plain view every day. If you leave valuable items visible in your car, your car is automatically a target.
• If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination or move them inconspicuously. This includes packages, backpacks, gym bags, GPS units, MP3 players and so forth.
• Leave no trace. Don’t leave any sign that there might be valuables out of sight in your vehicle, such as docking stations or connector cables.
• Lock ALL your vehicle’s doors even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time. So often items are stolen from unlocked vehicles where the owner was only going to be gone “just for a second.”
• Set any alarm or anti-theft device. If you have one, use it. Many people believe that car-alarms no longer make a difference, but they can be an effective deterrent to an auto-burglar, who most often chooses the easiest target.

What to do if something is stolen out of your car:

• As soon as you notice something’s stolen, or that your car has been broken into, do not touch or adjust anything in, on, or around the car.
• As soon as possible, call the police in the city where it occurred to report the incident. Sunnyvale’s Dispatch Line is 408-730-7180.

The photo above is what the typical bag of an auto burglar looks like. One of Sunnyvale DPS’s officers recovered this during a traffic stop.