opinions on this topic?

[jessica31876]

I was watching the news tonight and saw that a mall I go to often has police officers patrolling the parking lots during the holiday season and they will lock unlocked car doors and if they see any valuables/packages in plain sight leave a "nasty note" on the windshield. I do not know what the note says but to me that is just going a little to far. While I never leave a car door unlocked that doesnt mean I could not accidentally do it. I just think that it kinda oversteps the boundaries of what is appropriate. I think they should remind people of the dangers of leaving a car unlocked or valuables in a car but it should be done in a polite way and should never be forced on a person. While I have the right to choose to lock my doors others may not want to do so and that is their choice. Same goes for the valuables. Even if it is something like a GPS device which alot of people leave in their vehicle they are telling you that you should remove it and wipe the spot off your windshield where it was stuck. Maybe Im alone in this that others would not have a problem with this practice...I just couldn't believe that they would go so far as to open an unattended car and lock the doors without consent from the owner/s.

[mrsmbm]

I'd be weirded out if they did that to my car! I agree...it oversteps boundaries.

[Misty Cato]

Just to play devil's advocate-

I'll bet any one of those people with unlocked cars would expect the police to follow-up if they had their car stolen. Like most state agencies, police are underfunded and understaffed. If locking car doors in a parking lot reduces crime and allows the police to spend more time on things like drunk driving patrols and following up on violent crimes; I could be convinced that is is worthwhile.

[ditzyscrap]

I've heard of them putting notes on cars where they've seen valuables in plain sight before (I think it happened to us last x-mas season, actually), but never of them checking vehicles to see if they are locked/unlocked, and locking in the case of it being left unlocked. I personally don't have a problem with them leaving a note/reminder, but locking doors is going a bit too far IMO. What if there was a reason your door was unlocked, like maybe the lock sticks or something, lol!

[wildblueeyez]

Hm, I think I'd be weirded out but I think I'd be more inclined to lock my doors! LOL

Kinda off topic but similar - I think someone has been in my car a few times over the past month. I know how I leave things, including the driver's side visor which is always down and when I go out to go to work in the morning, it's up against the roof. I don't keep spare change in there or anything else but you can bet my car is now locked every night!!

[jessica31876]

Kinda creepy LuAnn. It has happened here too we got up in the morning and our driver side door was standing wide open. We had locked the car but somehow it was unlocked when we got up. Nothing was missing because we never leave anything in the car.

[lizzyfizzy]

i'm gonna have to play devils advocate here as well. my dad is a retired cop so i almost always side with the law. i bet who ever said those notes were 'nasty' was exaggerating. cops going around to lock car doors to prevent theft is keeping more tax dollars to work for us in the future. it takes time and money to investigate theft. people need to stop being dense and need to stop forgetting to lock their cars. LOL!!! i really don't care either way. if people want their newly purchased items stolen, so be it. if police stations want to spend their time and money locking unlocked cars, so be it. who cares...LOL!!!

p.s. i'm grumpy.

[Laura_A]

Just to play devil's advocate-

I'll bet any one of those people with unlocked cars would expect the police to follow-up if they had their car stolen. Like most state agencies, police are underfunded and understaffed. If locking car doors in a parking lot reduces crime and allows the police to spend more time on things like drunk driving patrols and following up on violent crimes; I could be convinced that is is worthwhile.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I can see where someone would think it's too much, but IMO, it's a small, easy way to prevent crimes that would take time away from more important things. (Not to say that having your car broken into isn't important... but you KWIM)

[BrattyMeg]

I'd rather have a cop lock my door then have my stuff stolen and me feeling like a dumbass for leaving my car unlocked. I agree that the note is probably NOT nasty..that the person who received one just feels dumb for having received one.

p.s..I'm grumpy too :)

[EveRecinella]

That's a tad odd, but then again I would never leave my car unlocked, well if we actually owned a car. LOL

[Priscilla]

I got a note like this for leaving a GPS holder and charger in my floorboard. No valuables.

In the middle of summer!! It wasn't nasty by any means. just a "friendly" reminder.

[mixedclawzz]

I never leave my doors unlocked now that I have a different car. On my other car, there was always a problem with the locks. So if they would have locked it I would have been locked out of my car. Then I would have been mad. Other than that-Probably not.

[Paula]

I was watching the news tonight and saw that a mall I go to often has police officers patrolling the parking lots during the holiday season and they will lock unlocked car doors and if they see any valuables/packages in plain sight leave a "nasty note" on the windshield. I do not know what the note says but to me that is just going a little to far. While I never leave a car door unlocked that doesnt mean I could not accidentally do it. I just think that it kinda oversteps the boundaries of what is appropriate. I think they should remind people of the dangers of leaving a car unlocked or valuables in a car but it should be done in a polite way and should never be forced on a person. While I have the right to choose to lock my doors others may not want to do so and that is their choice. Same goes for the valuables. Even if it is something like a GPS device which alot of people leave in their vehicle they are telling you that you should remove it and wipe the spot off your windshield where it was stuck. Maybe Im alone in this that others would not have a problem with this practice...I just couldn't believe that they would go so far as to open an unattended car and lock the doors without consent from the owner/s.

Well, I don't think they should leave nasty notes, but I like that they are patrolling the parking lot. They are only looking out for our purchases. After all, a car loaded with packages is easy pickings for the thieves this time of year.

[newfiemountiewife]

Just to play devil's advocate-

I'll bet any one of those people with unlocked cars would expect the police to follow-up if they had their car stolen. Like most state agencies, police are underfunded and understaffed. If locking car doors in a parking lot reduces crime and allows the police to spend more time on things like drunk driving patrols and following up on violent crimes; I could be convinced that is is worthwhile.

DH is a cop, and I completely agree. You have no idea how much of his time is spent on totally preventable things like this. I wouldn't think a thing of it, I'd be glad they did it, so I didn't lose all my stuff!

That said, I had my van window busted out a couple of months ago, so locking is not necessarily a deterrent!