Auto theft rampant in Albuquerque

archer wapiti

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I mentioned this on another thread in an different context, but it occurred to me that this is useful information as hunting season begins and weary folks are traveling through on their way to hunt. Auto theft in Albuquerque is highest in the country per capita. There is no guarantee that your vehicle will be where you left it the night before if you're staying in a hotel. I met a guy antelope hunting a few years ago who had his truck with all his hunting gear stolen while he was having dinner along the interstate in a busy area with lot of restaurants (I-25 and Jefferson). A fairly recent news story was of a man from Vermont who had retired and was moving to Tucson. He got a hotel in Albuquerque and woke to find his U-Haul -and a lot of his life-gone in the morning.
Obviously a lot more vehicles are NOT stolen than are stolen, but theft is rampant now. I'm not trying to scare anybody, but be vigilant.

http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/study-ranks-albuquerque-worst-in-auto-thefts-per-capita/4509548/
 
I would suggest parking in well lit areas, near surveillance cameras if possible, and take all valuables out of the vehicle overnight if at all possible. If not feasible, hide valuables out of sight. Also if traveling for hunting make sure to keep all serial numbers (guns, electronics, etc) in your wallet or with you, just in case the worst happens they can be entered stolen in ncic.
 
You can buy a Club off Amazon for about 30 Bucks. I bought one for my daughter's Honda and my Dodge after her car got stolen this spring. It was recovered a week later. The order went in before we even got it out of impound.
 
Usually stop in albuquerque on the way back home from visiting family in california. Never have had any trouble but always try to stay in nicer areas, bring all luggage inside hotel, and get a room on the first floor right by the truck where we can see it. Always carry a knife, club, and usually a handgun with us if something does happen.
 
I had my F350.broken into at a motel by the airport in broad day light. I wasn't in the room for 10 mins when the truck alarm went off. ABQ is a joke when it comes to criminals. Low bail , easy punishment and back out on the street in hours to steal some more
 
I see Billings is #10 on the list. I realize its based on per capita, but.... I guess we're not in Kansas anymore
 
I was looking at insurance trucks. You wouldn't believe how many SuperDuty's are for sale that have no interior. After some digging I found on a forum a guy say his was stolen in Arizona and law enforcement told him they go after those trucks to smuggle. Whether it be drugs or people. He said they run the desert and tear the interior out because they can fit more without it.
 
The Land of Enchantment! Abq is one of the worst cities I've ever had to visit. Used to be down there 2x a month for Ma Bell. Just plain miserable folks.

Gotta love "The Bay Area" taking up half of the 10 spots.
 
I take the rotor out of my distributor when I'm driving my old vehicles.
An interesting as well as novel approach for preventing car theft and it would seem very effective also. I "interviewed" a professional car thief about 10 years ago in California and asked him what he thought was the most effective way of preventing one's car or truck from being stolen and without hesitation he recommended a wheel bar lock. GEICO has a very interesting and informative article regarding car theft titled 'How to Pevent Your Car Fom Being Stolen' on the Internet which might be of benefit. While working in Las Vegas last week my truck was broken into and vandalized but fortunately not stolen. With estimated damage to the door and locking mechanism of approximately $600 I was certainly 'more fortunate' than most other victims. Had I been aware of and implemented some of GEICO's recommendations I probably could have prevented this incident. Live and learn, sometimes the hard way.
 
I had my truck broken into at a trail head for a popular fishing spot outside of Denver about 5 years ago. When the sheriff came, he said it was rare, but not unheard of. One thing he did say is that he recommends not placing any stickers identifying what may be inside your vehicle. I was guiding at the time, and had stickers displaying all of my "brands" on the back of my truck. Thankfully my renter's insurance covered it at the time (less depreciation), but still a pain in the ass. I would lose my sh*t if this happened with my hunting stuff. Now, I make it a point to only pack what I will be needing into my vehicle, to hopefully avoid this in the future. I also don't have any stickers on my new truck, which I hope deters folks in the future as well...
 

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