Premium Content
Subscriber only
A police blitz at Mackay shopping centres uncovered 22 unlocked vehicles including one with the keys in the ignition ready to drive away.
The checks of 976 vehicles across Mount Pleasant Centre and Caneland Central took officers a few hours but one unsecure car could be a day’s pay for a criminal spotting a valuable possession on the back seat.
Caneland Police Beat Acting Senior Constable Kate Ward said public complacency was why officers were placing “Don’t gift your keys to thieves” postcards on windscreens across the state.
Constable Ward said common security failings included unlocked tradie’s toolboxes, wound down windows making it easy to jimmy open doors and the formerly trusted keys on top of the tyre.