Crimes of Opportunity
The Time of the Season for Crimes of
The tail end of each year brings
with it a certain type of crime that might be one of the most easily prevented:
crimes of opportunity.
These are thefts of items left in
yards, from open garages, left inside unlocked vehicles, and more. Also
included are burglaries of homes with unlocked doors or windows.
Simply put, a crime of opportunity is
an act committed by a culprit without any planning, when he or she is presented
with the opportunity and takes it.
Ever had your bike stolen as a
kid? Was it locked up? Likely there was little premeditation by the thief, who
just saw the opportunity and took the bike.
And the last quarter of the year,
with the holidays approaching and stress high, such thievery thrives. People
with financial hardships are pressed into burglary or theft, and they know
homes and often cars are full of new gifts for the holidays.
Victims can be overwhelmed by
year - end life demands and can easily forget to lock up a car or garage, or get
items out of the yard at night. And people are away from home more - think
holiday parties, special events, and shopping - providing even more
opportunities for suspicious behavior.
The Unlocked Phenomenon
Ask a security industry expert
how to address crimes of opportunity, and you'll probably get a toolbox full of
ideas that should be effective.
Among them includes a term used
above: suspicious behavior. Neighbors would be wise to form a Neighborhood Watch group, or to report anything they see in their
neighborhood that looks even slightly suspicious.
Police often say their success
depends somewhat if not in large part to the care of the population they serve,
that the crime rate drops when residents pay attention and report things that
look out of whack.
Another concept is so simple
you'd think it was common sense: lock up. Not locking doors to your house, your
garage, or car is asking for it.
To put it in perspective,
consider statistics for theft in the City of
And tell your children to always
lock up their bicycle. In Ojai for the stated period, 47 more thefts were of
bikes. So, half the city's thefts for a year involved items left unsecured.
Not-so-Happy Holidays
There's a reason security forces
at shopping centers swell during the holidays, and keeping the peace is just a
part of it.
Thieves abound during the holiday
season, and absentmindedness feeds it. People leave purses in shopping cars,
or, worse, leave items in their cars in clear sight.
This creates more temptation than
a thief can bear. Almost always, believe it or not, there are suspicious
individuals cruising parking lots in their cars, on foot, even on bicycles.
You don't need to hire a personal
security expert to protect yourself. Just remember to never perceive a sense of
security. Always lock your vehicle, never leave wallets, purses, cash,
checkbooks, mobile phones, jewelry, laptops or anything else of value in plain
sight.
And don't think locking items in
the trunk works. Many trunks can be opened from inside the car, or accessed by
removing the rear seat. It doesn't always take too long, either.
Regrettably in these times we
have to take extra steps to prevent crimes of opportunity. Luckily these steps
are not greatly time-consuming, and get easier as you get used to them. Just
remember to take a moment of consideration toward protecting your
valuables, and make thieves work that much harder.