By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
The
Laoag City police has sounded the alarm on
the rising incidents of carjacking in the city.
Newly confirmed Laoag police
chief P/Supt. Jeffrey T. Gorospe said their records show carjacking incidents
have doubled compared to last year.
The police records show carjacking
incidents in 2013 totaled 24 while the total for January to September for this
year has already reached 52, or 28 more incidents with still three months
before the end of 2014.
Mr. Gorospe said the
carjacking cases mostly involved motorcycles.
To correct the situation, he
advised the public to be more alert with regards to the safety of their
vehicles.
He stressed that motorcycle
owners should be more safety conscious since their vehicles are the easiest to
steal.
Mr. Gorospe also disclosed that
in their records, the carjacking incidents were reported to have occurred at
the vehicle owners’ residences where they parked their motorcycles. Some have
parked along the streets with their keys on the ignition.
The police chief also advised
owners not to leave their vehicle registration, whether original or
photocopies, in their vehicles to help the police in tracking down stolen
vehicles.
He explained further that in
police checkpoints, officers would usually ask for driver’s licenses and
registrations and if a stolen vehicle’s registration is with the vehicle
itself, it would make it easier for the thieves to get away as they can present
registrations for the stolen vehicles.
He added that if the vehicle
registration cannot be presented by the driver, the vehicle is automatically
impounded until a valid registration is shown.
Mr. Gorospe also expressed
disappointment in some carjacking cases where the vehicle owners and thieves
reach a settlement and the case is not forwarded to the proper courts.
This situation, he stressed,
paves the way for the thieves to steal other vehicles in the future because
they are not being charged and detained for their previous cases.
Mr. Gorospe also enjoined
motorcycle owners to have their vehicles chained and padlocked for added
security. He also asked them to choose safer parking areas.
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