'Significant number' of vehicles stolen last year were warming up and unlocked, say Calgary police

Don't warm up your car by leaving in running and unlocked.

That's the message Calgary police are trying to get across for the third year in a row with Operation Cold Start, a reminder program that runs this week.

Officers are looking for vehicles left running in front of housesand convenience stores and tracking down the owners to educate them.

But that education, Staff Sgt. Graeme Smiley says, seems to require repetition because it's still happening a lot.

"We compare it to the evolution of seat belts in vehicles," Smiley said Monday morning.

"It requires a concerted effort over a long period of time to impact people's habits and that's what we see here. We are trying to get ahead of that and remove this from people's morning habits."

Crime of opportunity

Police say unlocked, running cars accounted for a "significant number" of the 5,938 stolen vehicles in Calgary in 2018.

"Criminals see this as an opportunity. They are thinking it through. They are targeting a particular neighbourhood one morning, a different neighbourhood another morning, so it's organized in that respect," Smiley said.

"It's also a crime of opportunity. Leaving a vehicle running while at the shopping mall or convenience store, we've seen thefts from there as well."

He adds there are additional risks that flow from the related criminal activity.

"There's a significant safety risk associated with stolen vehicles. Criminals under the influence of drugs, driving these vehicles very aggressively, is dangerous for all of us."

Police recommend the use of a remote starter in a locked car and a steering wheel lock to deter thieves and urge people not to leave children or pets in a running vehicle.

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