Lock house doors and secure vehicles to prevent theft

Officers are appealing for information after a number of cars were stolen earlier this week.

A black Audi A4 Avant registered SK61 UHN was stolen from Brickfield Road in Stonehaven and a white BMW X5 with registration LG61 ZMY was stolen from Riverside Drive in Stonehaven.

In Aberdeen a blue Audi Q7 with registration M11 BDY was stolen from the Craigden area, Queens Road, and a black BMW X3 with registration SV66 ZLO was stolen from The Meadows area of Milltimber.

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of these vehicles we would ask them to call 101.

Inspector Chris Kerr said, “These thefts have obviously caused a great deal of anguish and inconvenience for the owners and we have a number of police resources working on these cases. We are keeping an open mind as to whether all four thefts are linked and I would ask anyone who has seen any of these vehicles to get in touch with us as soon as possible.

“I must stress that the public can greatly reduce their chances of becoming the victim of a crime by locking their vehicles and securing their homes. All of these vehicles have been stolen either because the keys were left in the ignition or because the key was kept close to an unlocked property door.

“These are needless crimes and as I have mentioned, a great deal of valuable police resource has been diverted to investigate these incidents which will impact on the investigation of other crimes reported. We continually ask the public through traditional media and social media to keep their belongings and property secure and so I really must urge the public to heed this advice.

“Please lock your vehicles and keep any valuables out of sight or completely remove them from vehicles overnight. All modern vehicles have central locking and so all we ask that owners press that one button to lock their vehicle.

“Please lock the front AND back doors to your homes and store car keys AWAY from these doors. With the better weather there is a temptation to leave windows open overnight but where possible I would ask that windows, certainly on ground floors, are kept closed and locked.

“Also, if you notice ANY suspicious behaviour on ANY occasion please call police immediately on 999 so that we can respond and detect those responsible. We have received a number of calls from householders reporting suspicious behaviour several hours after the event. Please do phone us at the time, do not delay, you will not be wasting our time.

“The value of these four cars is significant and our officers are progressing each enquiry and we aim to identify those responsible as quickly as possible.

“If anyone has any information I would ask them to call Police Scotland on 101, or to remain anonymous contact the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, and quote the reference number ‘0492 of 26 April 2018’.”