Officers patroling an area at night looking for car thieves should shine their spotlight through the driver-side window and towards the roof of the vehicle. The reflection of whomever is in the vehicle will be seen on the passenger window. You can see if the offenders are armed or just hiding — the more tint on the windows the better it works.
I caught over 60 auto burglars or auto theft suspects as well as rapists and armed robbers using this method. It works 100 percent of the time.