This week, the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station deputies issued a warning to residents about a rise in crimes of opportunity due to the recent heat. Typically, when it gets warm, individuals tend to crack their car windows and leave the doors and/or windows of their home open, with only a screen in place. While this may help in some small way to beat the heat, it often presents an irresistible scenario for would-be thieves.
According to SCV deputy Josh Dubin, “Over the last 72 hours we’ve seen some crime directly related to the heat. Cracking a window might keep your car cooler, but it also makes it a target for a potential thief.”
Most criminals are opportunists, and don’t really target specific individuals when they plan to commit burglaries or home-invasions. They often go around and target homes and cars that present the lowest odds of getting caught as well as ease of entry. When windows and doors are left open, intentionally or not, it presents a very difficult to resist opportunity for a thief to easily gain entrance to the home or vehicle and take whatever they want.
Lastly, deputies wanted to remind residents of the dangers of leaving children or animals in the car during the heat wave. It’s illegal to leave an animal confined in a car if the conditions, such as extreme heat, represent a hazard. When deputies respond to these calls, they will usually attempt to contact the owner of the vehicle. When the owner cannot be contacted, Animal Control is usually called to deal with the situation.
With children, it’s an even more serious matter. It doesn’t take long for children to overheat, even if the window is left cracked.
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