Commentary, Local Police Reports, Park Forest

Want Your Car Stolen? Park Forest Police Have A Tip


Park Forest Police Department police blotter, car stolen
The Park Forest Police Department. (Photo: Gary Kopycinski)

Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Are you looking to get your car stolen? Park Forest police have a tip to help you lose one of your most expensive possessions.

It’s easy.

Start your car, leave it running, and go back into your house.

Police say they’ve already taken several reports of cars being stolen under just like that.

Seriously.

But police are not seriously trying to help you get your car stolen. In fact, they’re trying to remind us all that stopping theft sometimes is not that difficult.

Police shared a report of a recent action of one of the officers that likely helped stop a potential auto theft.

“When Officer Kris Vallow was on patrol and found a running vehicle unoccupied in a neighborhood south of Sauk Trail, he removed the vehicle keys and tracked down the owner,” police wrote in a statement. “That seemingly uneventful act is actually an excellent example of proactive policing. We’ve already had several vehicles stolen under those same conditions, and winter hasn’t even officially started. And stolen cars aren’t just a property crime- they create a very real threat to the public and to the officers who try to apprehend car thieves.”

“Proactive citizen engagement is never giving the thief the opportunity,” police continue.

It might be tempting sometimes to warm up a vehicle before driving off to work, but creating an opportunity for someone to take your car is never a good idea.

“Please never leave a vehicle running if you’re not in it. It might not be Officer Vallow finding it first,” police warn.


ARCHIVES