Take Precautions to Combat Increase in Petty Theft

Chief Wurpes

By Rob Wurpes
Wilsonville Chief of Police

One of the Wilsonville Police Department’s current concerns is the recent increase in incidents of petty theft, which includes car break-ins and package theft.

As we move closer to the holidays, package thefts typically go up. We took 70 theft reports in August and another 51 in September. It’s difficult to determine why these numbers fluctuate, but we do know that organized crews can come in and commit a large number of crimes in one night.

In response, we have adjusted our shift coverage to increase patrols when these thefts are occurring. We actively patrol residential neighborhoods overnight. In October, one of our officers intercepted a crew casing vehicles. After a short foot pursuit, we apprehended the suspect, who had outstanding warrants.

Car prowlers and porch thieves are opportunistic criminals that seek to quickly grab packages or items from a vehicle. Theft can be completed in a minute or less, at any time of day and in a variety of settings. Many car break-ins occur overnight, between 10 pm and 4 am; the most common items taken are wallets, luggage, gym bags, money, cell phones and chargers.

There are simple prevention measures you can take in order to help reduce the risk of having your car broken into or having packages stolen. These include:

  • Keeping your car locked and free of items – such as gym bags, backpacks, purses, wallets, briefcases, laptops, cell phones and loose change – in plain view.
  • Place valuables in your trunk before you arrive at your destination. Lock your trunk with a valet key, if possible, so a thief can’t easily pop open the trunk from the car’s interior.
  • Remove garage door openers, key cards and keys so that a prowler cannot easily steal your car or open a door to commit a burglary. Keep keys with you, not hidden in your vehicle.
  • Before departing your car, always remove the keys, roll up the windows, lock the doors and set the alarm (if you have one).

To deter porch theft, take the following precautions:

  • If you are frequently away when packages are delivered, consider having packages delivered to a post office box, or lockers at UPS, FEDEX, or Amazon as examples.
  • Consider purchasing a porch locker and secure locking bags for deliveries, which have become more affordable and are widely available.
  • Install motion sensor lights
  • Install visible video cameras. Several affordable, easy-to-use systems can keep an eye on things and serve as a deterrent.
  • Strategically place plants or other decorative porch items to allow delivered packages to be hidden from view, and less visible to passers-by.
  • Require a signature to take delivery.

If your car is broken into or a package is stolen, report the crime to the Wilsonville Police. For crimes in progress, call 9-1-1; if the break-in already occurred, contact the police non-emergency dispatch number at 503-655-8211.

Keep an eye out in your neighborhood. We are frequently assisted by community members who report seeing unusual activity and alerting us.

I hope this information helps you and your neighbors prevent car break-ins and package thefts from occurring. If they do, though, we’ll be here 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year to help you out.

This column is scheduled to appear in the November 2021 issue of the Boones Ferry Messenger.

 

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