POLICE are warning residents to be extra vigilant after a recent rise in the number of “Car & Key” type burglaries in the Warrington area.
These involve criminals travelling from other areas (often Liverpool or Manchester) with the intention of breaking into a house in order to steal the owners car keys and subsequently the vehicle.
The rise in this type of crime is in part due to the improved security on new vehicles which make them impossible to steal without the keys.
Thieves will often target prestige vehicles and/or high performance models. It is often the case that they may target an area during the daytime or early evening to identify a vehicle and return later at night.
There have been three such instances in the Warrington East Area area recently and police are warning people remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to Cheshire Police (0845 458 0000).
People are also being warned to secure their vehicles and the keys and vehicles fitted with vehicle location systems such as “Tracker” do assist the police in terms of recovering the vehicles and tracing offenders.
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Once the Lo Jack transceiver is activated, it starts sending out signals to tracking units, which are located in some police cars. The tracking unit receiving the signal then displays an alphanumeric serial number, an approximate direction to the vehicle, and an indication of the strength of the Lo Jack sending unit's signal (which roughly corresponds to how close by the unit, and thus the stolen car, are). Based on the serial number, the police can obtain a physical description of the vehicle, including make (brand), model, color, VIN, and license plate number. Every police car within a 2-3 mile radius equipped with a tracking unit will be alerted that the vehicle is near. Police aircraft can also be equipped with tracking units; these units are able to sense signals from further away than the units installed in police cars.