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Lock it or lose it: police Halton police say far too many Oakville residents are making it easy for thieves. On Tuesday, police unveiled the results of last week's campaign, which saw officers and volunteer auxiliary officers mark Crime Prevention Week by visiting neighbourhoods throughout Halton and checking to see who had not locked their vehicle and who had left valuables in their vehicle in plain sight. Staff Sgt. Robert Lloyd said officers checked more than 3,000 vehicles in Oakville -- and approximately 451 were found unlocked or containing valuables in plain view, or both. "It varied from area to area. On some nights they found that as few as three per cent were unlocked or had valuables in them," said Lloyd. "In other cases, 40 per cent of the cars on one street were either unlocked or had valuables clearly visible." Once unlocked cars were discovered, police knocked on doors and alerted their owners. Lloyd said many residents were surprised they had left their doors unlocked. According to police, one resident agreed he should store his GPS device out of sight, stating a previous device had already been stolen from his vehicle. Another resident told police they lock their vehicle before going to bed. "If I was out thieving, I would have been gone with whatever was left in their unlocked car long before they went to bed," said Lloyd. "The other one was strange, where they have already been victimized once and there is still that level of complacency." This complacency or carelessness could also be found in Burlington with police checking approximately 2,000 vehicles and connecting with 160 residents regarding their unlocked doors. At one point during last week's campaign, police visited the Burlington Power Centre, where numerous thefts from vehicles have occurred, and checked more than 1,000 vehicles. Lloyd said 71 of those vehicles were not locked. The purpose of the police initiative was to encourage citizens of Halton to become more engaged with what is taking place in their community and become more vigilant and active in preventing crime. Lloyd is hopeful the residents he had contact with will start making things more difficult for thieves by locking their vehicle doors and keeping valuables safe. There is no shortage of need to take these precautions with police reporting multiple thefts from vehicles in the Queen Mary Drive area over the weekend. In all cases, police said the cars were unlocked, allowing thieves to simply open the door and remove the valuables inside. 17 · Friday, November 16, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com on patrol: Halton police officers and volunteer auxiliary officers) walked around the River Glen area checking if vehicles were locked. If not, they let homeowners know in a recent blitz for Crime Prevention Week. Here, Auxiliary Const. Iggy Wong checks a car door -- this one was open. eric riehl / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog I checked in Then I checked out Be smart and keep your eyes on the road. Distracted Driving kills. Trillium Automobile Dealers Against Distracted Driving I had done it so many times before. Checking email, checking-in on social media sites... I thought I was being really efficient. I knew I shouldn't have done it while driving. But it was something so simple. So quick and easy. I had no idea that this would be my last check-in. Ever. TADA.ca/tadadd This message has been brought to you by the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association for the Trillium Automobile Dealers Against Distracted Driving (TADADD) campaign.