Police launch new blitz on car key burglaries

West Yorkshire Police this week chose Ilkley's Craiglands Hotel for the official launch of its new Key Safe to reduce car key burglaries - house break-ins committed simply to steal the keys to a car parked outside.

Detective Chief Inspector Roger Gasson, of Keighley Police said Ilkley was one of the areas most favoured by criminals for this type of crime, which had accounted for up to a quarter of all the burglaries recorded in set periods.

The Keighley Division claims it has successfully managed to reduce car key burglaries by encouraging people to display a promotional sticker in their car window and house window, declaring 'My Keys are Safe'. They are also handing out crime prevention information to aim to raise awareness of the crime.

This scheme has now been extended to the rest of West Yorkshire, and police hope residents of frequently-targeted areas such as Ilkley will take heed of the threat posed by criminals visiting the area.

Det Chief Insp Gasson said: "They see a car they like the look of, but because security is so good on new cars, they need the keys. They will look through the house windows, particularly the kitchen areas, to see if they can see them.

"They will try to sneak into the house through unlocked doors or put things like fishing rods or clothes line props with a coat hanger on the end through the letterbox or cat flap to hook the keys and steal the car.

"Hide your car keys from view and don't make it easy for thieves to sneak into your home. Remember to lock doors and windows."

High value and high performance cars are most often the target, say police. Cars worth tens of thousands of pounds have been found sold on for as little as £500. The burglaries can result in the theft of more than one car, which recently happened in the Ilkley area, said Det Chief Insp Gasson.

Police statistics have isolated the precise details of crimes, and have discovered that homes are most at risk in the early hours, and many burglars sneaked in through unlocked doors or windows.

And statistics show that silver and blue cars are most likely to be stolen, followed by black, red and green cars - although police say the figures may simply reflect popularity of certain colours for new cars.

As part of the campaign, police are not only advising residents to keep their keys hidden indoors, but are also asking residents to check on their general household security. They advise residents to lock doors at all times, keep the car in a garage if possible, and consider fitting a bollard on the driveway.

Det Chief Insp Gasson said some of the large houses in Ilkley could easily fall prey to sneak-in thieves.

He said: "We want to educate people to stop leaving their doors open. There are a lot of large houses in Ilkley and Bingley. When you sit in the front room of the house, you can't have control over your back door."

Methods of foiling the car key burglars include taking car keys upstairs at night, or keeping them securely concealed in the house, and not leaving gardening tools outside, as these could be used for a break-in.

He said people's concerns that taking their car keys to the bedroom at night would encourage burglars to search there for them, had not been borne out. Although about half of all cars stolen in this way are later recovered, police say almost threequarters of cars stolen by more conventional methods turn up.

Many cars stolen within the Keighley division last year were found in the Bradford area.

Det Chief Insp Gasson would like to see all car dealers and major insurance firms get involved in crime prevention, encourage dealers to hand out advice leaflets and stickers, or sell security devices such as steering locks, wheel clamps, even household door alarms.

He said he was disappointed that representatives of few such companies attended the campaign launch at the Craiglands Hotel.

For more information in crime prevention, contact the local crime prevention officer on (0845) 6060606.