I may not have a Ph.D. from Harvard, but I like to think that I have common sense.  Like Jim Croce once sang, “You don’t spit in the wind, you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and you don’t mess around with Jim.”  Words to live by.

Unfortunately, there are those that live here in the Pacific Northwest that must believe they live on a faraway utopian planet and not in the real world.  Yes, we’re fortunate to have very little crime on the island, mostly crimes against property, and the last murder took place probably ten years ago.  But, when you read our local police blotter, so much of the crime never had to occur in the first place if people just used common sense.

Here are some recent entries from our police blotter.

One Day

8:13 a.m.  An unlocked vehicle on C Street NW was entered by thieves.  Stolen were a wallet containing a driver’s license, ferry passes gift cards and checks written to the vehicle’s owner.

9:04 a.m.  A car was broken into at an apartment complex on W Road while parked in its garage.  Both the car and the garage were unlocked.  Cash was stolen from a wallet in the car.

12:36 p.m.  Three vehicles were broken into at a residence on N Place.  The garage where the vehicles were parked was left unlocked.  All of the vehicles were entered but only one had items stolen from it.  A stolen purse was later found by the residents near the home but the wallet containing bank and insurance cards and a driver’s license was missing.

12:42 p.m.  A car parked on L Avenue was broken into and items were stolen.  The victim believes thieves entered through the unlocked rear hatch.  The thieves took items containing bank information belonging to the victim and her mother.

10:30 p.m.  A vehicle on S Lane was entered and items were removed.  The unlocked car was parked in front of a resident’s home on Friday evening and not re-entered by its owners until Sunday evening.  It was discovered that an iPad and a laptop left in the vehicle were missing.

Another Day

9:24 a.m.  A couple on K Lane had planned on having a garage sale but cancelled it.  They placed an advertisement on Craigslist but soon cancelled it.  They left some items in their driveway that were for sale and others that were not contained in boxes or covered by blankets.  Others were in a shed and in the carport.  The morning of the cancelled garage sale, they heard people outside and saw some of them putting boxes into a truck.  They asked the people to leave.  The couple called the police when some people continued rummaging through their goods.  Many items not intended for sale were taken, including a laptop and camera as well as boxes for storage containing family heirlooms such as World War II medals from relatives.

7:02 p.m.  A house on M Road was broken into and items were stolen.  The front door of the residence was left unlocked when the resident left for work that day.  Upon returning home, she noticed that items were missing from the home and other items were moved.  The stolen items included an Apple iPad, a gold engagement ring, gold wedding ring, two gold necklaces with diamonds.  The total estimated value of the items was $3600.00.

Yet Another Day

7:43 p.m.  A H Road business had $100 stolen from the cash register and $75 from the safe.  The theft occurred between closure of the business the previous night between 9:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.  Police said the till had a key in it and the safe is kept unlocked.

There you have it.  I’m not condoning the actions of any of these criminals.  Their behavior is inexcusable.  But I’m convinced none of these crimes would’ve been committed had the owner locked their car, garage, home or safe.  These are crimes of opportunity and the police blotter shows that seldom is a car or home actually broken into.

All the grief associated with a stolen credit card, checkbook or other valuables could have been easily avoided if people just used a little common sense.  The only thing missing from the blotter was the report that some of the victims left the heater running in the car so the criminal wouldn’t catch cold while rifling through their stuff.

I don’t get it, but if you do, God bless you.