The driver’s side window was smashed and stereo ripped out. “Smash and grab” vehicle burglaries have been prevalent recently in Bill Pierce’s neighborhood. Earlier this year, a houseguest was a victim, and Pierce became a victim himself recently. He had been hosting a friend who was moving, and Pierce moved his truck to the front drive so his guest’s car would be safe.

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“Normally I park in the back where I’ve got it secure,” Pierce says. “So I moved my old ’92 pickup out front, thinking that no one was going to steal anything out of it because there wasn’t anything in it except for an old stereo. I left no belongings in the truck and figured that my Panasonic stereo would not be a desirable item to steal.”

A few days later, after his guest had left, Pierce was moving the truck to the back of his residence when he noticed the smashed glass and theft.

“Somebody used a crowbar to get the stereo out,” he says. “The stereo’s gone, and the dashboard’s going to cost me quite a bit to fix.”

Replacing the stereo and repairing the dashboard could cost more than $1,000. Other neighbors in the area also have been hit, including stolen golf clubs and other valuables. Recently, police have taken countermeasures to curb the thefts, including limiting street parking, using “decoy” cars to catch the crooks, and sending plain-clothes officers to patrol the area.

“There have been several thefts in the last year or so in the neighborhood,” Pierce says. “I’ve been real pleased with what the police have done. I’m really impressed, especially in spite of all the doom and gloom we’re hearing about our budget at City Hall, that our city’s police department is very responsive to our needs.”

Along with the countermeasures being used by Dallas Police, Lt. Gloria Perez with the Northeast Patrol Division says there are some simple techniques that may also prevent “smash and grabs”.

“There have been six burglaries of motor vehicles in the past 30 days in this area,” she says. “Some prevention techniques for residents to use include locking your vehicle, removing all valuables from inside your vehicle, parking in well-lit areas, and reporting suspicious persons and activity to 911 immediately.”

Simply moving valuables to the glove box or trunk could cause a thief to look elsewhere, keeping you from becoming a victim, Perez says.

– SEAN CHAFFIN