Halesowen police officers are urging residents in the Howley Grange area of the town to be secure their vehicles.
The area has seen a number of vehicle crime offences take place and 20 vehicles over the past 10 days have been left unsecure and unlocked.
Sat Navs, work tools, IPods and mobile phones have been reported stolen by opportunist thieves.
Neighbourhood Sergeant Wendy Tyler said, “I want to urge people to be more vigilant when leaving their vehicle unattended.
Locking your vehicle should be an automatic thing to do when walking away from the car, be it for a minute or two or overnight.”
Ms Tyler also stressed the importance to remove any valuables from sight.
She said, “All valuables need to be removed, especially at this time of year when people are out spending money on Christmas presents. The simplest thing, such as a carrier bag left on the back seat can seem very appealing to a thief.”
Both uniformed and plain-clothed patrols have been stationed around the area and there is an array of strategic plans in place to crack down on offenders.
Sergeant Tyler added; “We are also going one step further by making the vehicle owner who has left their vehicle unlock aware of this. We will be knocking on their door throughout the night getting them to come outside and lock the vehicle before returning back to watch the telly or to go to bed.
“With the darker cold nights now here I would ask you all to look out for one another and if you see anything that looks suspicious or you witness a crime in progress contact the police.”
