Don't let your GPS unit ironically go lost

NASHUA – If you didn’t already know, GPS units are hot these days, police warn.

Thieves have stolen GPS devices in more than a third of all vehicle break-ins this fall, and police are urging people to lock their vehicles and not leave GPS units or the mounts in sight when they park their cars overnight.

There were 64 vehicle break-ins in the city in September, and 26 GPS units were taken in 42 percent of the break-ins, police said. There were 76 vehicles broken into in October, and 32 percent of them involved the theft of a GPS device, a total of 24 devices.

So far, at least 19 GPS devices have been stolen from vehicles in the city this month, police said.

Most vehicle break-ins take place at night, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., police said. Though some thieves will break a window or jimmy a door, most thefts involve unlocked vehicles, police said.

The thefts are spread all over the city, although thieves tend to target one area at a time, and they target vehicles parked anywhere outdoors.

“A common theme was that almost all GPS systems stolen were visible from outside of the vehicle,” police said.

Police offer the following safety tips:

Remove your GPS unit from your vehicle. Do not put it in the glove compartment or trunk. Take it with you. Get it out of the thief’s sight.

Remove the mount from your dashboard. Thieves may believe that your system is still in your vehicle if they see the mount. Also, remove any traces of the mount (wipe off the suction cup smudge from the windshield).

Register your GPS unit with the manufacturer. Write down the make, model and serial number of your GPS so that, if stolen, it can be matched to any systems later found.

Report all thefts so that the police can determine hotspots/series and act accordingly.

More statistics and safety tips are available at www.nashuapd.com – click on “crime analysis” on the left-hand side of the page, then “current trends.”