The Craik detachment of the RCMP and Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) are teaming up to remind local motorists to take steps to prevent thieves from breaking into or stealing their vehicle.

Kelley Brinkworth, SGI manager of media relations, said there are “some really simple” and “pretty obvious” ways for people to stop vehicle theft. She said these include shutting windows tightly, locking all doors, removing valuables from a vehicle such as spare change, parking in a well-lit area, installing an alarm or using a theft prevention device such as The Club and never leaving a vehicle running while unattended even if it is locked.

“It has a lot to do with the convenience factor,” said Brinkworth about never leaving a vehicle running while unattended. “In the winter it’s so cold out and (people) probably think ‘OK, well I can just run into a store here and come back to my nice warm vehicle,’ but it’s just an additional risk there. It’s more easy access for a thief.”

According to SGI statistics on vehicle thefts in Saskatchewan, the number of stolen vehicles has actually gone down every year after a five-year high of 2,395 vehicle thefts were reported in 2011, but that doesn’t mean people should be any less vigilant. SGI still received more than 1,900 claims for stolen vehicles in 2013 resulting in a cost of close to $10 million.

Craik RCMP constable Ian Smith said the majority of vehicle thefts and break-ins in this area usually begin when keys are left somewhere in a vehicle.

“The most common crime around here comes from transients,” said Smith. “They look for vehicles that have keys in them. They’ll search everywhere in the vehicle for keys.”

Brinkworth said leaving possessions in a vehicle that are visible to someone walking by also gives a would-be thief incentive to try something. She said never leave suitcases, golf clubs or electronic equipment such as a laptops or even a collection of cds laying out in plain view.

“If a thief can’t see it then they might not think there is anything, so what is the point of breaking in, but if they can see it out there it’s just something that makes it a little harder to resist,” said Brinkworth. “So why risk it?”