You may recall my car’s brush with the law almost two years ago.  (Geez, has it really been that long?)

Well Nellie’s got a new story to report.

A friend of mine on Forkner found a blue sticker on her car steering wheel left by the police warning her the doors to the car were unlocked. The car was parked in her driveway at the time. Do you know anything about this program? It seemed rather bizarre the police could enter her car on her property without her permission or a warrant! I figure you might have gotten some sort of notice or release about this if it’s legit…

It happened to me two years ago, so yes, this is a legit program run by the Decatur PD.  However, my car was parked in the street when I received my warning from DPD and they left the ticket on my windshield, not inside my car.  (They even came back a week or so later and noted that my car doors were now locked)

I’ll check with the police and ask about standard protocols for this program.

DWAFD sends in this message originally posted on the Winnona Park message board.  Not sure of the author.

Sometime late last night or early this morning, a car was stolen on the 100 block of Shadowmoor; the victim had left the car unlocked. Also, during the same period, the CITGO station on the corner of Commerce and E. College was burglarized. The theives somehow jimmied the window behind the ice machine outside and they ran off with the store’s suppply of cigarettes.

As the neighborhood watch person for this area, I once again caution never to leave the car (or garage windows or doors) unlocked for any reason an also consider purchasing an anti-theft device for the car. Winnona Park is normally a safe neighborhood so incidents like this are very disturbing. Let’s keep an eye out for each other; we can’t watch 24 hours a day but always call the police if you see or hear anything suspicious. I’d rather they investigate and find nothing wrong then to ignore it and find out that a crime has been committed.

Recent car thief victim, Allison, writes in to report that the thief who had been stealing from unlocked cars in the Winnona Park in the last week or so, has been caught.

Last evening I received a call from Sgt. Jennifer Ross of the Decatur Police. They arrested a man yesterday afternoon for the thefts occurring throughout our neighborhood this week and last. The arrest was based on serial numbers of items taken, which were reported. Sgt. Ross ran them against a database of serial numbers from pawn shops, and lo and behold, our thief had attempted to pawn the items. So he was arrested and will be prosecuted.

Sgt. Ross also said that the reports of entered autos—even in the cases where nothing or items of little value were taken—will help the prosecutors in their case against him.

Hats off to Decatur Police Department—this is community policing at its best!

Hats off indeed.

“So, I left my car doors unlocked the other night…”

In most communities, when someone started a sentence with those words, it would almost certainly end with “and someone stole my iPhone jack!” (Poncy-Highlands) or “and someone stole the Renoir I left on the backseat!” (Druid Hills)

But here in proactive-to-a-fault Decatur, it ends like this…

“and I received a little note from Sgt. Clark informing me that my car was a quote “easy target” for lacking of locking.”

So thanks Decatur Police!  The momentary horror at the thought of having gotten an inexplicable parking ticket has made a indelable mark on that part of my brain that reminds my thumb to press the lock button on my key fob.  (And yes I’m being cute here but not sarcastic.)

And “tsk-tsk” me all you want, but at least I was already following the little blue note’s suggestion not to leave a “laptop”, “jewelry” or a “weapon” on my seat.