RCMP Crime Prevention Tips: Tip #9 - Don't leave your vehicle running

It may not be as cold as it has been, but you can still catch people warming up their vehicles in the morning.

Inspector Paul Peddle with the Portage la Prairie RCMP says if you leave your keys in the ignition, you're giving a criminal an opportunity.

"It's one thing if you have a command start system where they can't move the vehicle and you want to warm your vehicle up," says Peddle. "But, we see it all too often, where people will go out and put the keys in the vehicle, and they think by locking the doors, that it's fine."

Peddle says they still deal with situations of this nature and they are recommending people stop starting their vehicle and walking away.

"The criminal has that opportunity and they see that the keys are in the ignition and the car started. We've seen it quite frequently where they will smash the window out and take the car."

The final RCMP crime prevention tip will go up today at noon.