'Tis the season for burglars breaking into vehicles

The jogger was just out for a Sunday afternoon run around Cameron Park Lake.

She told El Dorado County sheriff's deputies that she parked her Toyota Sienna about 2:15 p.m. and made one lap in about 15 minutes before deciding to get a sweater. Someone already had smashed her front passenger side window and ransacked her van.

The incident is another reminder of how fast car burglars can work.

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, it is a good time for residents to think about making their vehicles less attractive to people doing Christmas "shopping" in the parking lot instead of the mall. Car burglars will be working hard throughout the region. They may be cruising parking lots or residential streets.

At home, the best defense is to make sure the car is locked, empty and out of sight in the garage whenever possible. The driveway is the next best choice.

Parking a car on the street should be avoided if possible.

When out in public, select well-lit parking areas where there is a lot of other traffic. Do not park in a remote location.

"Make it look as sterile as possible," said Sgt. Bryan Golmitz, spokesman for the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department. Even a gym bag sitting on the back seat looks like an invitation, he said.

The woman at Cameron Park Lake lost a small amount of cash, some clothing and perhaps worst of all, a box of personal papers and documents.

Police investigators warn that car burglars are not just looking for good stuff these days. They also are hitting the glove box and anywhere else in a vehicle, looking for personal information that they can use for identity theft.

If they can come out of a car with an address and a garage door opener, they might end up burglarizing an entire house.

"That garage door opener is a key to your home," said Dee Dee Gunther, spokeswoman for the Roseville Police Department. "We have caught people roaming through neighborhoods with a whole collection of garage door openers."

Golmitz suggested that residents visit the Internet, where many police agencies post tips on how to avoid car burglary.

An information sheet offered at www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/sheriff/public_awareness/VehBurglary.pdf provides a summary of the types of items car burglars are netting pretty much on a daily basis, Golmitz said.

Wallets, cell phones, expensive electronics and mail are all up for grabs once the rock goes through the window. More sophisticated thieves have several other methods that can shatter a glass window with one quick punch and very little noise.

Car burglary hotspots are not always where you think they might be. For example, the Galleria in Roseville employs a large, mobile security force to keep its car burglary numbers down, Gunther said. But, police typically see a lot of activity in movie theater parking lots, church parking lots and areas outside fitness clubs – places where thieves expect drivers to be away from their cars for a while, Gunther said.

Folsom police logged about 35 car burglaries in October. Along with the usual wallets, purses, laptops, and iPods, police noted that global positioning systems also were frequently removed.

Vehicles were hit in shopping centers and outside homes.

Folsom residents soon may see mounted police patrols roaming busy parking lots. Police have successfully employed that tactic in past years. Officers on horseback can see over parked cars and get a better view of the whole area.

Citrus Heights police investigated about 39 car burglaries in September, the last month that statistics were available.

During a 30-day period ending Oct. 25, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department noted about 46 car burglaries in its Northeast Division, with about half occurring in the Fair Oaks and Orangevale areas.

About 70 car burglaries occurred in the Rancho Cordova area during that same time frame, according to Sheriff's Department statistics.

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