HIDE, LOCK & TAKE Program

 

 

 

The Sparks Police Department Crime Prevention Unit has introduced a new citizen awareness program for the upcoming holiday shopping season, in an effort to reduce vehicle burglaries and auto thefts. The program will also reach out to many of the apartment complexes throughout the city.

 

The program is simply called “HIDE, LOCK, & TAKE”.  The concept, to reinforce people to do the following:

 

 

 

This program has proven to be effective in reducing vehicle burglaries and auto thefts in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States.

 

As the beginning of the holiday shopping season approaches, many shoppers will be preoccupied with getting the best price for their purchases, and will rush from one location to another. As in the past, victims assume their property is secure enough in the back of their locked vehicle. As we know, items of value left in plain sight are an invitation for criminals to help themselves to those items.

 

Many citizens fail to secure their vehicles when they return home, and during the night, we know what happens.

 

And as we know from experience, as the weather changes and the cold and freezing temperatures arrive, many like to warm up their vehicles outside, leaving their keys in the ignition.

 

It is our goal to remind the citizens of Sparks about these issues in an effort to reduce the number of vehicle burglaries and auto thefts.

 

Crime Prevention had 10,000 brochures printed up. These have been distributed to most of the retailers in Sparks, and some have parking lot signs, reinforcing the message:

 

 

After the holidays are in full swing, we will ask apartment complexes to have the signs installed on their property to remind their tenants to do the same.

 

If you have questions, or have any citizens inquiring about the program, send them to Officer Dennis Rodrigue, Crime Prevention Officer at 353-2299 or 353-2241 x509.