As Commissioner of Police, I would like to take this opportunity to bring to light an increase in stolen vehicles, which is occurring across Nassau County. The Police Department has been increasing and intensifying our patrols in all locations of concern and made substantial arrests over the past year, however we cannot allow this to continue in our communities.
Education of our residents plays an important part. Some very simple measures can be applied to greatly assist the Police Department to decrease criminal activity. Our intelligence shows that approimately 98 percent of stolen vehicles occur due to the operator leaving the FOB/key inside the car. Many times, this becomes a crime of opportunity. Residents should be aware that criminals canvass the neighborhoods. They are walking from house to house checking to see if vehicles are left open. Once the criminal is inside your vehicle, they steal what they can and if the FOB is present, they will steal the vehicle.
I am requesting your assistance to educate our residents, so that in a collaborative effort we can decrease the number of stolen items from cars and the actual theft of the vehicle.
This can be done using some simple safeguards:
• Always remove your FOB/keys from your vehicle when you’re not operating it
• Never leave a spare DOB/key in the vehicle
• Ensure that your vehicle is locked at all times and close all windows
• Never leave your vehcile running and unattended
• Park your car in the garage if possible, especially at night
• Park your vehicle in a well-lit and highly visible area.
I appreciate your partnership in this matter and all issues regarding public safety. Together we will continue to keep Nassau County on of the safest suburban counties in the nation.
—Patrick Ryder
Commissioner of Police
