Why make it easy for car thieves?

Staten Island Advance Editorial By Staten Island Advance Editorial Staten Island Advance
on August 29, 2011 at 1:14 PM, updated August 29, 2011 at 1:15 PM

Year after year, Staten Island is among the leading counties in the nation when it comes to auto theft. Even with all the high-tech security gizmos on new cars these days, thieves around here are notoriously proficient. “Gone In 60 Seconds”? How about 30?

Yet, despite the high incidence of grand larceny auto here, when it comes to being on guard about this crime, too many Staten Islanders act as if they live in Mayberry. Or maybe Oz.

It happened again last week - twice within a couple of days, in fact - and the incidents have us shaking our heads.

In the wee hours of the morning last Tuesday, two goofballs happened upon a Mazda Protege in front of a deli on Page Avenue in Richmond Valley. The car’s owner was in the deli buying a cup of coffee. Conveniently, he had left the keys in the ignition and the car idling. The accused thieves didn’t even have to start it.

Thus, according to police, began these geniuses’ crime spree, which ended a few hours later when they allegedly tried to hold up a Dongan Hills sandwich shop . . . using a hammer.

But they fled when they couldn’t open the cash register and were captured in the stolen Mazda a few blocks away. Given the charges against them, it appears these criminal masterminds will have some down time behind bars to rethink their career choice.

Then, on Thursday, another motorist, driving along in Dongan Hills, decided he wanted to - all together now - “just run into the deli and get cup of coffee.”

According to script, he left the keys in the ignition of his Buick LeSabre, and according to the script, a homeless man with an extensive criminal record allegedly spotted this easy mark.

He sped off and led police on a wild chase, according to the cops. He eventually ditched the car in Concord and was ultimately pinched in New Brighton.

In both cases, these were purely crimes of opportunity. The cars were stolen not by professional car thieves out looking but by bungling thugs who stumbled upon the vehicles with the keys in them.

In both cases, the owners made it easy for them. Too easy. People with a goon’s mindset just can’t pass up stealing these cars that practically have a “PLEASE STEAL THIS CAR” sign on them.

We still don’t understand why this ever happens.

Is it that hard, when you’re “just running in to get cup of coffee,” to turn your car off and pocket the keys? And is it that much of an effort to put the key in the ignition and turn the car back on when you come back out of the deli, fresh cup of coffee in hand?

A couple of years ago, police reported that of 76 vehicles stolen in a given time frame, 44 percent were stolen by thieves who used the owners’ own keys. In most cases, the keys were left in the ignition.

With car theft so prevalent in our borough and city, why would anyone who lives here and reads the newspaper want to make it easy for rank amateurs to jump impulsively into the car-stealing business?

Take your keys and lock your car doors. If people followed that simple advice, it would put a big dent in the borough’s notoriously high GLA rate.