SHE SAYS...

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32381, 21 August 1970, Page 18

SHE SAYS...

There must be some mistake. But no, the car you left there outside the shop or theatre, just a short time ago is there no longer. Quite suddenly car thefts are no longer just.something you read about in the paper. Quite suddenly it is real, personal, and very upsetting. No, I have not had my car stolen, and I’m taking every precaution to see it does not happen. But every month a surprising number of Christchurch drivers are less fortunate. They usually get their cars back before long, but damaged, or at least stripped of any valuables. Laden with parcels, trailing a young child, hurrying to get home and start the dinner, it is so very easy for a motoring housewife to forget to lock a back door, or to flip the catch on the front vent-window. Some make it easier still for the joy-rider: they dash into a shop or office “just for a moment,” leaving the keys in the ignition as well. Even locked cars can go. My husband was told recently of an instance involving a colleague. Parking his

car on the way to the theatre, the man noticed two youths loitering near another car, but the full import of the situation did not really strike him. After the film the other car was gone, and a very distressed woman was standing looking at the empty space and the pile of window-glass which told the story. It was later recovered, damaged. With hindsight, my husband's friend said he now realised a call to the police would have been in order when he saw the loiterers, but one does not always think of this at the time. If you fear this sort of thing ask your garage about fitting a cheap thief-foiling device to the family car. As a police ’ spokesman said this week, many of us help thieves make a profitable living by leaving valuables in unlocked cars, or even by leaving them in clear sight in a locked car. A camera or portable radio left lying on a car-seat is an open invitation: store »it. under the seat, or lock it in the boot. Even rugs, clothing and parcels can be an attraction for thieves.