It does not pay to be a vehicle prowler in Puyallup, but it does to report one.
For the fourth year in a row, the Puyallup Police Department is conducting vehicle checks during the holiday season to keep would-be thieves from stealing valuables from parked cars and get the public to take steps to prevent vehicle property theft.
A new addition to the program is dial-a-prowler. Shoppers who suspect there is a vehicle prowler in a Puyallup parking lot are encouraged to call the police. If the call leads to an arrest and the caller does not have a history of vehicle theft, they will receive a $100 gift certificate for purchases at a local retail store or restaurant.
The “NOT in Puyallup” program teams retail stores, the police department and the public in an effort to prevent vehicle break-ins.
The police department teamed up with the department store Target to make 25,000 check lists to leave on parked vehicles. The pamphlet lists prevention tips and tells drivers if their car is inviting to a thief or not.
There’s been a 20 percent drop in vehicle property theft from last year, said Puyallup Police Officer Wally Anderson.
“We’d like to see that drop even more,” Anderson said.
With the holidays being such a busy time, sometimes people need a gentle reminder to protect their valuables in their car, said Lt. Dave McDonald, Puyallup Police.
“When you get the public involved and pay them for their time then they start looking a little harder and making it safe for all of us,” Anderson said.
Vehicle prowlers can steal from a car in six seconds, Anderson said.
So identifying suspected thieves quickly is important. Often times a prowler will be walking across the parking lot looking into cars, instead of toward a store.
If they have a bunch of keys in their hand while walking around the lot that could be a sign of them getting ready to makes a move on an item someone has left in their car.
Police officers, volunteers and police explorers are making the rounds at local retail store parking lots to check if people are doing their best at deterring thieves by taking simple measures like keeping valuables out of site and keeping their doors locked.
“We’re just looking into the vehicle to see the same thing a thief would see,” McDonald said.
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