'Don't be a sucker' to sat-nav thieves!

Police in Slough said there had been a "massive rise" in sat-nav thefts in the area in recent months - up 79% since 1 April. As a result, Thames Valley officers said they were launching a campaign to tackle the problem, which included advice for drivers.

Chief Inspector Dave Parker, said that thefts of sat-navs were becoming a "major problem" with around ten units being stolen every day in the Slough police area alone.

"Their visibility, portability and value make them a gift for opportunist thieves, but it really only takes a couple of minutes to take the sat-nav and cradle with you and rub off the suction mark.

"We want to get people into the habit of doing this and prevent themselves becoming a victim. I want people to realise that leaving a sat-nav in a car is the equivalent of leaving cash laid out on the dash-board."

He added: "We recommend that drivers take all valuables with them – including the distinctive plastic cradles which hold many electronic devices – and wipe away marks left by suction pads.

“Leaving the support cradle or marks from suction pads behind encourages thieves to break into the car because they assume a device is hidden in the glove box."

Free dusters!

Chief Inspector Parker went on to say that it was often worth leaving an empty glove box open, just to show that there was nothing inside.

Further crime reduction advice included keeping a record of the make, model and serial number of equipment and marking sat-navs with your postcode and house number or vehicle registration using a special security marker such as an ultra-violet pen.

Other Thames Valley Police officers in the Bracknell area have recently been handing out free dusters to motorists in car parks, telling them to remove the "tell-tale" cradle sucker mark on the window or dashboard.

Each duster is printed with the slogan 'Don’t be a sucker to thieves' together with a reminder to always remove portable sat-nav devices from vehicles.

According to recent reports, there were three times as many sat-nav thefts from cars reported in May 2007 than in the whole of 2005.

A study by Trafficmaster showed that more than one in five road users now owns a sat-nav device to help them find their way around.