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Car thieves check your wing mirrors to see if you have left your vehicle unlocked, expert reveals
- Thieves are scanning streets looking for open wing mirrors on cars, it emerged
- A study found they are a tell-tale sign a car is unlocked, allowing looters to strike
- ‘Lazy’ car owners are warned to be vigilant and not leave valuables in vehicles
- ‘Open wing mirrors equate in the thief’s mind with an open door,’ said an expert
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Electric wing mirrors left open have been revealed as a tell-tale sign for thieves that a car is unlocked, police and the AA have warned.
In a university study, convicted criminals described how they look out for high-end cars with retractable mirrors left open as a sign that a car is unlocked.
Kevin Floyd, a criminologist at Huddersfield University and former police chief inspector, said most thefts were as a result of ‘lazy’ motorists, The Telegraph reports.
He said: ‘With modern cars nowadays, open wing mirrors equate in the thief’s mind with an open door. It’s as simple as that. It’s a green flag.
Electric wing mirrors left open have been revealed as a tell-tale sign for thieves that a car is unlocked, police and the AA have warned as in a Huddersfield university study, convicted criminals described how they look out for high-end cars with retractable mirrors left open as a sign that a car is unlocked
‘They don’t want to try the doors because they are so sensitive they will set off an alarm – but if the mirrors are open, then it’s confirmation the car is unlocked and no alarm will go off.
‘They can then sit there, pretend to be the owner and take as long as they want to have a good look around and either nick things or steal the car. It’s an open invitation.’
Mr Floyd added another chief error was to leave valuables inside cars in the first place, and that many items – such as house keys or papers with financial information – could be used to commit more crimes.
Mr Floyd, who spent more than 30 years in the police – half as a traffic policeman – and interviewed thousands of criminals, said many thefts were related to drug dependency.
But he added that there was often an ‘honour among thieves’ about who they would target.
Many for instance, shied away from cars with children’s seats in the back, while others avoided properties owned by elderly people.
Kevin Floyd, a criminologist at Huddersfield University and former police chief inspector, said most thefts were as a result of ‘lazy’ motorists and that with modern cars nowadays ‘open wing mirrors equate in the thief’s mind with an open door. It’s as simple as that. It’s a green flag’
Jenny Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead on car crime, told The Telegraph that Office for National Statistics figures showed there had been a 22 per cent increase in the theft of vehicles from around 90,000 to nearly 110,000 in the last year.
‘Locking your vehicle, even when filling up or parked on your drive, greatly reduces the possibility of it being targeted by an opportunist thief. Even if you have locked your vehicle, check you haven’t left any windows or the sunroof open,’ she said.
‘Vehicles today are by and large more difficult to steal than ever, unless the thief can access your key or fob to clone them. Keep your keys safe, out of view when at home, and away from your front door.’