By Doug Page
Dayton Daily News
DAYTON, Ohio — While crime numbers, on the whole, are down, police across the Miami Valley are frustrated by preventable property crimes.
“Many of our thefts from vehicles and vehicle thefts are vehicles whose doors were left unlocked,” Vandalia Police Chief Doug Knight said Tuesday. “We’ve had one gentleman whose car has been stolen three times. Each time, the doors were unlocked and the keys were in the ignition.”
When Beavercreek was hit with a rash of thefts from vehicles, the police department began heavily patrolling - both on bikes and in cruisers - problem areas, Chief John Turner said.
“If officers spotted valuables in plain sight in a car, they’d put a flier on the windshield, asking the owner to take precautions against thefts. They slapped a lot of fliers on lots of cars,” Turner said.
Asked why crime might be down, none of the law enforcement officials interviewed had a single answer.
“Are we doing a better job?” Turner asked. “I’d like to think we are. We are sharing more information with other jurisdictions, and I think people have a better sense of what is going on in their neighborhood.”
Englewood Sgt. Mike Lang said his city’s strict enforcement of traffic laws is one of the reasons the city has seen a significant decrease in both violent and property crimes.
“Our active, visible officers are deterring crime,” he said.
But none are taking the downward trend for granted.
“An old chief once told me don’t brag about crime numbers when they are down because when they are up, you are going to take the blame,” Vandalia’s Knight said.
Copyright 2010 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.