BLOG: Don't Be A Victim

The number-one crime in Eagan is theft.

Theft is often a crime of opportunity. Do not leave valuables in your car, even if it is locked. Thieves are scanning parks, parking lots and even neighborhoods, looking for things to steal. Common areas for thieves to hit are parks, shopping centers, the movie theater, and resident's driveways. Take your iPads, iPhones, CDs, GPS units and other valuables into your house with you or carry them with you in your purse.

Thieves often will watch parks and other areas. They will be in their cars and will watch people enter the parking lot and put purses, backpacks, computers, etc, under your seat or in your trunk. Once you have left the area, the suspect will smash your window and will know right where to find your expensive toy. Thieves also look for suction cups for GPS units. If your suction cup is sitting there empty, there is a good chance you probably hid your GPS in your car, somewhere. Again, they smash the window and they are gone. The whole process will take less than 30 seconds, and they and your item are in the wind.

Don't leave your garage door open at night. Many thieves (actually, if your garage is attached to your house this would constitute a burglary) drive around at night, looking for open garage doors. They will steal items from your garage, your car and if the door between your house and garage is unlocked, they will come inside, too. 

Don't be a victim -- shut your doors and lock them. Bad things do happen in Eagan. But again, many of these bad things are crimes of opportunity.

Another thing I would recommend is to take a few hours to write an inventory of all of your valuables. Write down the make, model and serial number of your item. That way, we, the police, can enter your specific item as stolen, and we can track it on places like pawn shops and Craigslist. Without the serial number, our hands are pretty much tied. You can't imagine how many iPad's are sold or pawned in one day in the Twin Cities area.