'Lock It Or Lose It', Police Warn

WINNETKA. IL — Many North Shore vehicle owners who presumably do not want their cars to be used in high speed chases, gun violence and other dangerous crimes still regularly leave their cars unlocked in front of their homes, sometimes with keys, fobs or door openers inside. In response, the Winnetka Police Department released a video Monday aimed at cutting down the growing number of vehicular burglaries occurring in the village.

Dozens of unlocked vehicles have been rummaged through so far this year, with several having been stolen in recent months, according to police reports. According to Winnetka Police Interim Chief Marc Hornstein, there has been an uptick in burglaries and thefts of cars across the northern suburbs this year, and virtually every one of the incidents have involved unlocked vehicles.

In Winnetka there were already about 50 percent more car burglaries reported in 2017 through the middle of August than the average for an entire year, according to police. Unlocked vehicles are sought out because they are such an easy target. While it sounds like an easy thing to do, many people continue to leave their car unlocked, sometimes with key fobs or garage door openers inside.

"By not taking it seriously, we're simply inviting this activity to continue," Hornstein said. And the result can be dangerous, since the often high-end cars nabbed by neighborhood car burglars are not chopped up and sold for parts right away. Instead, they are often used to carry out more crimes by people who can commonly be armed, he said.

"They usually get driven very hard and aggressively and many times they're found crashed," Hornstein said. When officers try to pull the cars over, the oftentimes reckless drivers tend to flee at high speed with "absolutely no regard for public safety," he explained.

"These are unskilled drivers, many times, driving high performance vehicles," said Winnetka's interim police chief. "What scares me is the possibility of them running into an innocent person who is also on the road." There is also a risk of dangerous encounters with the groups of thieves. So far this year, one stolen vehicle was recovered with several bullet holes in its side, and one Winnetka homeowner was confronted by two intruders, one brandishing a weapon, in his own garage. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Winnetka, Glencoe — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Hornstein said his department has been engaging members of the community in a variety of ways throughout the summer, including handing out postcards to festival-goers, commuters and residents and posting content on social media. He said the natural next step was to produce a video public service announcement including reenactments to visualize the problem.

The new Winnetka Police Department PSA, entitled "Lock It Or Lose It" was directed by D.P. Carlson with help from many Winnetka residents. Former WGN anchor Rick Rosenthal appeared as a newscaster, the Fields Auto Group offered the use of a Maserati sports car as a prop, several local teens portray a group of thieves, Officer Rob Siwak appears as himself and Public Safety Analyst Keri Kaup was instrumental in its production, according to Hornstein.

_{Top image: Winnetka Police Department public service announcement | YouTube}