Belvoir residents need to lock their vehicle doors and roll up the windows unless they want to lose any valuable items inside the vehicle, or even the vehicle itself.
As the warm weather sets in Capt. Steven Galay, Fort Belvoir Police Department, is encouraging residents to make sure doors and windows on their cars and homes are locked and closed, and anything else that can allow an intruder into the home is secured.
"You want to make sure the bushes that surround your windows are trimmed and all your lights work that surround the perimeter of your house," said Galay. "Also, do not leave your garage doors open at night."
Burglars are looking to steal electronic items like cell phones, ipads, iphones, GPSs, tablets and personal items like wallets, purses and even change in a vehicle cup holder, according to Galay.
He said trimming bushes around the home prevents burglars from being able to hide while they try to break into the home, and keeps the home visible for someone walking or driving by to notice suspicious activity.
"You want to make your house visible for people driving by so they might see something suspicious," Galay said.
Along with electronics and personal items, if a person leaves a car unlocked or the windows down that person very well may not find their vehicle where they parked it. A resident can also receive a ticket for leaving a car running unattended.
"We had a car stolen here within the last 30 days because a resident left his car running outside before work to warm it up and left the doors unlocked," said Galay. "It's against the law to leave your vehicle running unattended. It's a ticketable offense because it's a measure to prevent people from leaving their cars unattended. Most insurance companies won't pay out a claim for your car being stolen if you left your keys in it while it was running."
Galay wants residents to remember it's illegal for anyone to ride a bicycle on post without a helmet and it is a violation of DoD and Belvoir regulation for a person to operate a motor vehicle on post and talk on a cell phone that is not attached to a hands-free device.
"The violation is administrative in nature, so if you are active-duty or a DoD civilian it's an administrative action," said Galay. "If you are a civilian with no government affiliation it's a warning."
Residents get excited during warm weather season to get to the pool or do any outdoor activity they enjoy, but they need to remember to be aware of what they are doing so they don't become victims of a crime, said Galay.
"People need to have situational awareness. Don't get so caught up in the moment that you do something that would be considered negligent," said Galay. "Just remember to be safe."
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