Car Thefts Reported On North Fork In Recent Days: Police
NORTH FORK, NY — Car thefts have been reported on the North Fork in recent days — with some cars even reported stolen from driveways while residents were home, according to social media postings.
According to Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan, “We took two reports this weekend of vehicles stolen from the Mattituck area.”
Southold police in recent years have warned residents not to leave their vehicles unlocked.
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Paul Romanelli, president of Suffolk Security Systems, spoke with Patch about some precautions residents should take.
Romanelli said in recent days, he’s seen “lots of online comments from people saying the North Fork is not what it used to be as the car thefts occur. That’s simply not true. Car thefts have occurred out here for many years, my brother being a victim of a car theft in Southold over 20 years ago.”
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Nearly all the car thefts occur due to unlocked cars with the keys left inside, Romanelli said.
“In my opinion, that is simply irresponsible on the part of the car owner. Why leave a vehicle worth thousands of dollars unprotected, often with valuables inside? Sure, the probability of a car theft is slim but, nonetheless, most of the thefts are easily avoided.”
Romanelli explained that while the technology used to steal cars has improved vastly, so have the defensive features built into many cars today, including alarm systems, GPS location services, and remote locking controls.
“Car owners should start with the basics: lock your vehicle every time you exit it; don’t leave valuables in plain sight, including loose change; and if there’s an app available for your vehicle, then sign up for it and use it to maintain its location.”
Romanelli said he would recommend all of those tips before advising someone purchases a video camera.
However, he added, “Camera technology has come a long way. Now, our cameras don’t just work on motion detection, they actually use intelligent analytics to notify you of a person or a vehicle within a customized protection zone in the camera view. Today’s cameras have higher resolutions and ease of use on downloading actual evidence, and pricing has stayed relatively stable with the improvements.”
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