Despite reminders, Stafford County residents won’t lock their car doors. And their stuff keeps getting stolen.

STAFFORD — Stafford County continues to have issues with opportunistic criminals rifling through and stealing from unlocked vehicles.

Amanda Vicinanzo from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office reported only about 26 percent of thefts and incidents of vehicle rummaging happened in locked vehicles. This shows that locking your vehicle and taking your valuables inside can be very effective against deterring thieves.

Viciananzo relayed stats from the county’s crime analyst. From January 1 until October 17, 2018, “there have been 186 total thefts from vehicles with about 49 of them being secured (it’s about 26% of the total),” she states in an email.

“This is just thefts from vehicles, but if all vehicle rummaging incidents are added in (where the vehicle is entered but nothing taken), then there were 236 total incidents and 62 vehicles secured (still about 26% of the total),” Vicinanzo adds.

The sheriff’s office is still looking for three suspects behind a series of larcenies from vehicles that happened on October 17, 2018, according to a press release.

“While canvassing the neighborhood, Deputy Aubrecht located the subjects in the 1200 block of Kings Crest Drive and immediately exited his vehicle and attempted to follow them on foot. He terminated his pursuit after losing sight of the subjects when they fled into the woods,” the press release said.

“Several residents subsequently reported that their vehicles were rummaged through and some were missing items. One resident reported that her registration card was stolen from the glove box of her vehicle. Another discovered that both her keys and purse were missing. The purse was then located several yards away from her home, but was missing her wallet, which contained several credit cards. Another resident reported that she found a birth certificate and social security card while walking her dog,” the press release said.

Anyone with information about these vehicle larcenies is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 540-658-4400.

Though there are still a significant number of thefts this year, the number of thefts are down from last year, when Stafford County had a total of 415 thefts and 468 rummaging incidents. In 2017 about 33 to 37 percent of vehicles stolen from or rummaged through were secured, according to Vicinanzo.

Items that are commonly stolen are

• Wallets containing money
• Credit cards
• Electronics
• Other Valuables

The sheriff’s department encourages residents to bring those items inside from their cars to protect themselves from theft.

Stafford County Sheriff’s Department is promoting a nationwide awareness campaign through their social media channels. They are using #9PMRoutine when they make posts encouraging residents to lock their car doors, bring in their valuables, close garage doors, turn on exterior lights and take other measures to eliminate opportunities for criminals. These posts are promoting Crime Prevention Month for the entire month of October.