Sheriff Department: Lock car doors to prevent break-ins

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) The Allen County Sheriff's Department has responded to multiple thefts from vehicles over the past weeks and is asking the public to ensure they lock their car doors to prevent thefts.

Public Information Officer Corporal Jeremy Tinkel released the following suggestions the public can follow to help with crime prevention:

• Lock your doors; take your valuables with you when leaving your vehicle unattended in a parking lot.  Most of the reported thefts are from unlocked vehicles!
• Make sure your car doors are locked at night. 
• Leave the porch light on and if your vehicle is equipped with an alarm system, make sure you set it. 
• Do not leave your garage door opener in your vehicle and report any suspicious people or activity to police as soon as possible. 
• Do not leave anything that can be carried away in plain sight in your vehicle (I-Pods, wallets, CDs, GPS systems, etc.).

The Sheriff's Department asks that anyone who notices a person in the neighborhood has new items similar to what may have been stolen from a car and and does not seem to have a believable explanation of how they were attained, to call the Allen County Sheriff’s Department Detective Bureau at (260) 449-7431.