Te Puke Police report

A handful of car-related incidents in Te Puke make this a good time for a few reminders about vehicle security.

Three incidents of attempts to steal cars, or from cars, have occurred in residential areas in recent days.

Of these, one related to a Nissan Tiida and one to a Mazda Demio, which are both in the top five of New Zealand’s most stolen cars. Both were parked on the street.

If there is an opportunity to bring your car into your property, then you should. That just makes it a little bit more difficult and a little bit more challenging for anyone trying to break in or steal it.

Also, it’s important to remove valuables from your vehicle as, especially if they are in view, this is a temptation for thieves.

If you have no option but to park on the street, then consider a steering wheel lock and/or a car alarm. Both work as deterrents.

Trailers have also been targeted in the past.

Consider a wheel lock or clamp and, if it is possible, park the trailer with a car in front of it so the trailer can’t be towed away - that’s another good preventative measure.

While on the subject of cars, while we haven’t seen this in the recent cases, in the past car number plates have been stolen and then used on other cars involved in crime. This is a way of trying to prevent a vehicle from being identified.

A way to combat this is to replace the manufacturers’ screws with tamper proof screws. These can be bought online or from hardware stores like Bunnings and Mitre 10.

■ A second person has been arrested in relation to the ram raid on the Puffland vape store in Te Puke earlier this month and is due to face a number of charges.