Nanaimo RCMP are finding themselves at the centre of a trend on social media, and they’re turning it into a teachable moment.
An old story has been making the rounds about ticketing a woman for leaving the window of her car down.
RCMP say in the past 18 months they’ve only issued one such ticket, and in the end it was cancelled.
However, they say even though there’s no campaign of ticketing for unsecured vehicles, it’s a bad idea to leave windows open or doors unlocked.
They point out last year alone the city saw 647 thefts from vehicles and 130 thefts of vehicles. About half involved unlocked cars.
Constable Gary O’Brien says, “Thieves take advantage of this and will simply saunter up and down residential streets, late at night, checking door knobs to find one that is not locked.  Not securing your vehicle, leads not only to loss of property but damage to vehicles, policing costs and higher insurance rates.”
