At our last trustee meeting we had the pleasure of having Commanding Officer of the Nassau County Police 8th Precinct, Deputy Inspector Mike Cronin and POP (Problem Oriented Policing) Officer Paul Lamonaca visit with us. Deputy Inspector Cronin briefed the audience on the past year. He stated that major crime (robberies, homicides, burglaries, etc.) is down 8.5 percent from last year. I thanked them for the excellent job they are doing. Deputy Inspector Cronin has always been responsive to any request or questions that the village has had this past year. They continue to work with us on traffic and other police-related situations throughout the village. He and Officer Lamonaca are also working with us and the Howitt Safety Committee to remedy some of the problems concerning children crossing and parking at the Middle School. I wanted to alert everyone of a situation that they spoke about, one that we can help prevent. That is theft of personal property from automobiles. This has increased dramatically over the past few years. Many of these thefts occur when cars are parked in your driveways or in front of homes. The popularity of GPS systems, satellite radios, radar detectors, expensive stereos, laptops, cellular phones, iPods (the list can go on and on) encourage thieves. Any vehicle with a visible item, briefcase, purse, gym bag or other valuable left in sight might be a target. Other property often stolen from vehicles include: purses, wallets, checkbooks, sunglasses, cameras, CDs, spare change, auto parts, power tools, tool boxes, hand tools and even car batteries. Preventing and making it more difficult is easy. Always lock your vehicle, even in your driveway. May sure you lock your car no matter where it is or how short of time you will be away from it. This will discourage casual thieves. It will also deter those who would go into an unlocked car to look for the trunk or hood release button in order to steal auto parts or trunk contents. Keep all valuables out of sight, preferably in the trunk or bring them in the house at night. Thieves will break into a car if they think there is something valuable in it to be stolen. Many thefts from vehicles are based entirely upon being able to see something inside that can quickly be converted to cash. They know that briefcases and gym bags contain watches, jewelry, cash, and checkbooks, small electronics (PDAs, calculators, and digital cameras). It is important to also report any suspicious activity. Call 911 if you see or hear something that sounds suspicious. An additional security measure is to install outdoor lights, such as dusk-to-dawn or motionsensor lights. These deter car theft, vandalism and burglaries. You should also list and record all the serial numbers of your valuables. By taking these few precautions you can help prevent the loss of your valuables.