The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1946-12-19

instance the operator of the We
hicle had failed to remove the key
from the ignition or the switch
was left OPEN"
Events of the week supported
Kershaw's statement that resi-
dents of small towns rely over
heavily on the good intentions of
people of the area.
Its just as important to guard
your car against thefs in Kenne-
wick as it is in larger centers," he
maintains.
He points to the Wednesday
evening theft of a car from Rich
land to make his point. Again an
open, unlocked car proved an ir-
resistable temptation to q 15-year-
old youth from the River Road,
who sometime between 5:45 and
1880 pm. stole it and started
cruising.
"Officers John Dickinson and D.
II. Huntley recovered the car be-
fore IL o'clock of the same eve
ning," Chief Kershaw recounts.
Finding it parked near the thea
tire, they waited for the theft to
return. When the show was out,
the boy came back, started the car,
and was ready to drive away"
While denying that he had ac-
completes, the youth admitted un-
der the questioning of officers, that
he had stolen three other cars re-
Gently. s...........r ,.
Another car, taken from a side
street near Kennewick Avenue be-
tween S and 6 o'clock Wednesday
evening, has still not been recov-
cred. Six dollars worth of gro
ceries went with it. "The driver
went away, leaving his key in the
car" Chief Kershaw comments. "a
Nor is the proximity of your
car to your living quarters a safe
guard, he cautions. Just after
midnight on Monday, a car was
stolen from 1913 Columbia Avenue.
No one heard it start. It was re-
covered later the same day in FL
lensburg. -.
"This was another case of an
open switch that required no key"
Chief Kershaw said. "The thief,
or thieves, simply pushed the car
away from the house, and started
it when they were at a safe dis
tance."
Finding the car in Ellensburg
probably indicates the work of
hitch mixers, the police chief
notes. "The location is one fire.
quented by transients, waiting to
catch q ride, and the car was
handy"
Two cars were recently molest-
ed in the Records addition. Thieves
had cut the wiring in an attempt
to wire around the switch, but
were apparently not sufficiently
skillful to complete the job.
'If you have a garage" Chief
Kershaw counsels, "put your car
in it at night and lock the garage
door. Then, to take first things
first, a car thief doesn't even
know you have a car to steal"
Still at large is a car taken
earlier this week from Park View
Homes. Eve hope" Chief Ker-
shaw says: "that Wen be able to
bring that one back too. But il
still might have been easier to
prevent the theft than to undo IL
after it's DONE"
He refers again to the FBI ar
ticle. Here is the opinion Of G.
Man experts, who study crime
throughout the nation:
"Crime prevention is not an in
tangible something for which the
law enforcement officer alone is
responsible" the article concludes,
morally it IS basic duty of the
parent"
"And," Chief Kershaw adds,
s'the citizen"
"When he fails" the article &C.
cuses, at becomes the response
bility Of all. The man who drives
an automobile may discharge q
portion Of his duty be incorporat-
ing into his pattern Of living the
following slogan: Lock Your Car
and Prevent Crime"