Tickets for leaving keys in car

By KRISTINA SEWARD

BEE STAFF WRITER





Last Updated: December 29, 2004, 05:49:15 AM PST





If you leave your keys in your car, there is a good chance it will be stolen. If you do it in Modesto, there's also a chance you'll get a $100 ticket.

It's not a new law in Modesto, just one that has seldom been enforced, police spokesman Rick Applegate said.



Police hope that enforcing the municipal code will help cut down on the number of vehicle thefts.



With as many as 150 vehicles a month being stolen in Stanislaus County because the keys were left in them, Applegate said, "we've now identified it as a problem that needs to be addressed."



Last month, the National Insurance Crime Bureau said the Modesto area has the highest rate of vehicle thefts in the country. Applegate said about 600 vehicles a month are stolen in Stanislaus County.



He said there also is a safety issue, because stolen vehicles are involved in some of the most dangerous police pursuits.



"It's senseless to leave the keys in a vehicle, allow it to be stolen, and then that person flees from the police and someone innocent gets hurt," Applegate said. "And that could have been prevented if someone took the keys out of the car."



Citations will carry a $100 fine for a first offense, $250 for a second offense within 12 months and $500 for a third within a year.



If the owner is not around, officers will take keys left in a vehicle to prevent it from being stolen, Applegate said. The keys will be taken to the Police Department, where they can be picked up by the owner, along with a citation.



Manteca Police Chief Charles Halford proposed a similar ordinance to the City Council there last week. He asked that people who leave their keys in their car be cited and fined $50.



Manteca also has experienced a high number of vehicle thefts. Halford said by the end of November, 738 cars had been stolen this year. He said 20 percent of the thefts resulted from leaving the keys inside.



Council members rejected the proposal, however, with several of them saying it targeted the wrong person: the victim, not the culprit.



But Lt. Gregory Peck of the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force said people should take responsibility for their cars. He said if the number of stolen vehicles in the area remains high, auto insurance companies likely will increase rates.



Also, Peck said, owners of vehicles with high theft rates, which in Stanislaus County are Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords and Chevrolet or GMC pickups, should invest in a theft prevention device, such as The Club or an alarm.



He said the most obvious available measure is to get people to stop leaving keys in cars.



"It would have an impact if we could just get the help of the citizenry to not make it so easy for these people to steal cars," Peck said.