Police warn drivers not to leave cars idling after an increase in thefts

Hamilton police are urging drivers not to leave their cars running in their driveways with the keys inside to warm them up.

This winter at least 45 cars were stolen after being left idle and unattended, another one was stolen just this week.

“A lot of these incidents are actually occurring at 6 am in the morning, really early. We can only speculate that a lot of them are people warming up their cars up before they go to work maybe in the drive way.” Lorraine Edwards, Hamilton Police.

About ten cars a month are stolen in the winter months in Hamilton. This week a stolen car was recovered after the owner had it running in the driveway for only ten minutes.

Police say not all the vehicles stolen are attributed to those who leave them outside unattended to warm up. They say in some instances people run inside quickly to grab something like a coffee and when they come out their car is gone. Food delivery services such as Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes have similar issues.

Police say their message to the public is simple, don’t be another statistic.