Texarkana, Texas Police want you to be aware that there have been 31 vehicles stolen in the last two months. That's a lot more than we typically see in Texarkana. Actually, that's a 93 percent increase over what happened in June and July of last year. The good news is that most are recovered within a few days and are returned to the owners.

However, the truth is that most of these thefts probably would have never happened in the first place had the owner done two things. Lock the door and take the keys.

Police say for the most part, auto thefts are not at all like Hollywood portrays it in the movies. It is a crime of opportunity. We've all seen the recent videos on social media of people going car to car in the middle of the night trying the door handles. Thieves typically pass on the ones that they can't get into. They are looking for the easy target -- the car that has been left unlocked. If they get lucky enough that they find the keys in there, too, they are probably going to steal that car.

In a lot of these cases, it's kids doing this. As a matter of fact, the police arrested two boys, who are 12 and 14 years old, in a stolen car last Sunday.

Please help the police protect your property. Don't leave your vehicles unlocked or the keys in the ignition.

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