You’ve been asked to lock your car. After this, you might be more likely to remember

Matt Parker’s experience this winter is proof it can be 5:30 a.m., 20 degrees below zero, and car thieves still aren’t deterred.

“Like usual, a member of the family was heating a car up before going to work and heard the horn honk and saw the taillights scoot out the alley,” said Parker, who lives in the McKennan Park neighborhood.

The distinctive 1998 Volvo station wagon then became the subject of a citywide search by Parker, those who know him and who saw him post the theft on social media.

After a sighting on the east side, the next day he learned the car was spotted in a parking lot not far from his home.

“Interestingly enough, nothing (inside the car) was stolen,” Parker said. “Tools were in the back because it’s a vehicle I’m working on, an extra vehicle we use with four-wheel drive in the winter, so some really expensive tools were in the back.”

Because the doors have a manual locking system and the car lacks remote start, it became an easy target when the family left it outside with the keys in to warm up.

While Parker temporarily lost his vehicle but nothing inside, thefts within vehicles include “literally anything and everything,” police spokesman Sam Clemens said.

That includes items as low-value as phone charging cords and spare change to sunglasses, laptops, gym bags and even weapons. Often, thieves sell the items online or in pawnshops.

“There’s not one thing people are looking for,” Clemens said. “But they’re looking first if they’re going to take the time to break in and make noise and potentially draw attention to themselves.”

Take a look at how little time it takes for a potential thief to check if a car is unlocked.

“This shows how fast it takes thieves to check car doors. They will check cars in a parking lot, down a block or parked in a driveway,” Clemens said. “It’s a numbers game for them; more cars they check, the better the chances of finding one unlocked.”

Now take a look at what happens when a thief discovers an unlocked vehicle.

“When thieves find an unlocked car, they aren’t spending a lot of time inside of it. They grab whatever they consider valuable and get out fast,” Clemens said.

“It’s incredibly fast and can take five to 10 seconds to find an unlocked car and steal from it before moving on to the next one.”

Apartments “are a gold mine for thieves because they have so many cars in a condensed area,” he added.

As with Parker’s theft, “the majority of car thefts in Sioux Falls happen when keys are left inside of it,” Clemens said. “In the wintertime, it’s more common for cars to be left running or warming up, but car thefts happen throughout the year, and the number stolen remains fairly consistent month to month.”

The overall number of stolen vehicles has increased every year for the past few years, from 638 thefts in 2018 to more than 1,600 last year.

“We’re not able to quantify the number of items stolen from unlocked cars, but anecdotally, those seem to be trending upwards as well,” Clemens said.

“Sometimes, it’s hard to make people understand that making small changes to their habits can have a drastic impact on crime numbers. If we can convince people to simply lock their cars and not leave keys or valuables inside, we would see a dramatic decrease in those crimes. It’s possible that people have a sense of security and don’t believe it will happen to them, but it’s easier to take steps to prevent crime than dealing with the hassle after a car or valuables have been stolen.”

In 2023, the City Council authorized $50,000 for a community awareness campaign to remind Sioux Falls drivers to lock their vehicles.

Half of the funding has been dispersed so far, going toward a mix of digital advertising placements. “Lock It and Pocket” is the theme turned into videos, audio and images designed and produced in-house by the city’s communications staff.

Here’s an example of one of the videos:

City Communications and the Sioux Falls Police Department “are evaluating the results of the ‘Lock It and Pocket’ campaign to this point,” the city said in a statement. “Following review, the team will work alongside City Councilors (Sarah) Cole and (Marshall) Selberg to determine how the remaining funds with be utilized in 2024.”

As for Parker, his experience with vehicle theft has left him with some tips worth sharing.

“The automatic starters make great Christmas gifts if you can do it,” he said, laughing. “Otherwise, figure out a way to keep it in the garage if you can. Or just bundle up.”