Full Notification

Numerous officers from your North Oakland Community Resource Officer team are out an about tonight within and near the 4800 - 5000 blocks of Telegraph and Shattuck on a campaign of awareness and crime reduction. The neighborhood was selected due to community concern, feedback and crime analysis regarding the problem of locked auto burglaries.

Our OPD command post is positioned within the 4800 block of Telegraph Avenue - come by for a chat, tour or meet and greet with your local officers. You can also help us canvass nearby to bring awareness and solution to the issue of burglary in the area. In conjunction with our strategy of environmental recommendations, awareness and focused enforcement we're asking people to keep some tips in mind:

1) Don’t leave valuables in your car. That sounds like common sense, but drivers and passengers do leave items of value in plain view every day. If you leave valuable items visible in your car, your car is automatically a target.

2) If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination or move them inconspicuously out of view.

3) Once home, unload your valuables immediately. Do not store valuables in your car any longer than necessary, and certainly never overnight.

4) Try to park in busy, well-lighted areas, or in your garage (if you have one).

5) Raise your windows and lock ALL of your vehicle’s doors even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time. Every week, items are stolen from unlocked vehicles where the owner expected to be away for “just a second.” Thieves often target vehicles at gas stations or parents dropping their children off at daycare centers and schools.

6) Set any alarm or anti-theft device. If you have one, use it! Many people believe that car alarms no longer make a difference, but they can be an effective deterrent to an auto burglar - especially when fellow community members look out for one another and call police when appropriate.

7) Don’t think your dark tinted windows will hide your valuables. Thieves often use flashlights to see through tint, and after-market tint is handy to keep all the broken glass in one “sheet” when they break out your window.

8) Report suspicious activity consistent with actions commonly associated with auto burglars: Persons looking into parked cars, "jiggling" door handles, surreptitiously using flashlights, or avoiding detection by passerby and vehicles.