Regulation requires vehicles be locked on post

FORT SILL, Okla. -- Typically, during summer, crime goes up, but you can make yourself a hard target for thieves by locking up your property and keeping valuables out of sight in your vehicle.

Seventy percent of thefts happened because property was left unsecured on post said Fort Sill crime prevention specialists. This included gym lockers, unsecured Soldier quarters, vehicles and garage doors that were left open.

Fort Sill Regulation 190-1 "Installation Physical Security and Crime Prevention" governs the security requirements for residents, Soldiers and employees on post. The regulation requires that all unattended vehicles be locked said Janet McMurtrey, Physical Security Branch chief. That means you can't leave your car unlocked even if you're going to run into the shoppette for a minute.

"It's not hard to lock your car doors because of key fobs," she said. "All it takes is the push of a button."

Still, people leave car doors unlocked and windows rolled down.

Twice a year, physical security specialists perform a survey where they check for unlocked vehicles. Two officers working together will check more than 2,000 vehicles over two days and vary their locations, including the PX and commissary lots, unit parking areas and usually the Bldg. 4700 parking lot.

Patrick Prather, Physical Security specialist, said he has found purses, laptop computers, prescription medications, medical records, golf clubs, keys to the vehicle, knives and guns in plain sight in unlocked cars. That's without entering the vehicle or digging through stuff, which the officers do not do.

"At any given time there are 12 to 15 percent of vehicles left unsecured," he said. That makes about one of every nine vehicles an easy target for thieves.

The officers let the car driver know his or her vehicle was unlocked.

Violators will find notices in their vehicles. The bright red half-sheet, is usually left on the driver's seat, dash board or floorboard, McMurtrey said.

Regulation 190-1 also lists rules about registration and carrying weapons in a privately owned vehicle. If a weapon is found in an unsecured vehicle, the military police are called and the driver is escorted off the installation, she said.

One recent Department of the Army level change is a newly acquired privately owned weapon brought on post must be immediately registered with the Directorate of Emergency Services.

Before, weapon owners had one working day to get guns registered. Weapons are registered using Fort Sill Form 526, which is available through the Fort Sill intranet.

Another change is a driver transporting a weapon must go directly to the destination where the weapon will be used, i.e., privately owned weapons range, hunting area. They still can stop at Sportsmen Services to check in and out.

It is illegal for employees or Soldiers who plan to go hunting after work to store the weapon in their vehicles during the workday. They must leave the weapon at home, and then after work drive home to retrieve it, then return to go hunting on Fort Sill.

Keeping personal property secured also applies to post housing, McMurtrey said.

"A lot of the crimes are crimes of opportunity," she said.

For example, a youth walking through a neighborhood may notice an unattended, unlocked bicycle left on the lawn and ride off on it.

Although Fort Sill is a gated community, post housing is not immune from crime. Toys should not be left out in the yard at night and garage doors should be closed, she said.

"We're getting information from the police, who are driving past houses at two or three in morning and seeing garage doors wide open," McMurtrey said.

Also, Soldiers living in barracks should lock their doors even when they are just making a quick trip to their cars or visiting a friend next door.

The Physical Security Branch works closely with Corvias Military Living, family readiness groups, units and organizations to get information out about security and crime prevention, she said. Soldiers and civilian workers also receive physical security training during their annual Security Education, Training and Awareness briefing.

Regulation 190-1 can be accessed from the Fort Sill intranet, under "Fort Sill Forms and Publications." Then in "Fort Sill Publications" click the "Regulations" tab.

For more information, call the Crime Prevention Section at 580-558-6028.