A QUICK decision to leave his keys in his vehicle nearly cost a Wodonga man huge sums of money.
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Shane Simpson had ducked into his home on Belgrade Avenue for only three minutes, and left the keys in the ignition of his $22,000 Mitsubishi Triton with $15,000 worth of tools in the back.
But it was enough for someone to run over from the other side of the road, jump in and drive away.
“I’d gone inside to grab some meat, I came out, and the car was gone,” the self-employed concreter said.
“It buggered me right up, basically.
“It was my work vehicle that I’d only bought four months earlier.
“I had nail guns, impact drivers, laser levels, a grinder, hammer drill, hand tools, hammer – there was a fair bit in there.”
The theft happened before Christmas and meant Mr Simpson could not work for four days, and had to delay a job until the new year.
Mr Simpson was one of the lucky ones who had his vehicle found, with the uninsured tools still on board, undamaged.
Many vehicles are trashed or torched and the items inside never recovered.
Mr Simpson would have been more than $15,000 out of pocket to replace the tools and concreting materials had the vehicle not been found three days after the theft.
He is supporting a police push for people to lock their cars, which has been a long running issue in Wodonga.
“It’s funny, when I got back to work there were a few different tradies sitting around,” Mr Simpson said.
“I talked about what happened and asked them if they knew where their keys were.
“Half of them had them in the ignition out the front.”
Wodonga crime prevention officer Raquel Vogel encouraged people to remove all valuable from their cars, lock all doors and close all windows.
Parking in a well-lit and secure area also helps to deter thieves.
“We had a young offender who we processed not long ago,” she said.
“He gained entry to six cars and admitted he tried at least 30.
“It's a shocking statistic when you think that one in five cars is potentially unlocked in the Wodonga area.”
Leading Senior Constable Vogel said there had been a high volume of thefts from cars with no signs of forced entry.
“Thefts can occur at any time, so it's important not to present an easy opportunity to thieves,” she said.
“The community has an active role to play in crime prevention.”
Mr Simpson said he now had his tools insured and made sure his car was always locked.