Garland County Sheriff warns of car break-ins

Garland County Sheriff Larry Sanders wishes to remind everyone to be remain vigilant about removing valuable items from your vehicle and locking the doors.

Throughout the month of August, the department received 33 reports of Breaking or Entering into vehicles. Of those 33 vehicles, 23 were unlocked.

Items taken included laptop's, prescription drugs, cash, credit cards, cd's and other valuable items.

Normally, the items taken either do not have serial numbers or the serial numbers are not recorded by the owners. This, along with the fact that most criminals take measures to not leave a "signature" behind, makes it impossible for those items to ever be recovered or for a suspect to be prosecuted.

Steps that you could take to avoid being a victim and/or to help in recovering stolen items, and possible prosecution of suspects, include;

1. Record Serial Numbers of valuable items.
2. Engrave a unique number on items that do not have serial numbers (we have an engraver that we will loan you).
3. Remove valuables from your vehicle.
4. Lock your doors and roll up your windows, when away from your vehicle.
5. Keep an eye on your neighbor's property and report any suspicious persons or activity.