It's fairly eye-opening for those of us who read the police reports each week. As Brady said, the common denominator in most cases is unlocked cars - or items left within plain view inside the vehicle. Though no one wants to think they have to worry about someone stealing their stuff, the reality is we have to lock our doors and take our valuables out of our cars every time we leave them.

I live in Prior Lake and have made it a habit of locking my car whenever I fail to park in the garage, partly because I know statistics and partly because I see a lot of wannabe hoodlums hanging out on the street and in the nearby park.

I'm always braver when I have my dogs with me and have told some teenage boys who were throwing rocks at a stop sign that it was past their bedtime and they should go home. They had some smart aleck remarks for me but I stood my ground until they walked away.

I'm on self-appointed park patrol as far as trash is concerned and often pick up broken beer bottles and other items on the walking path or in the playground sand. I asked some boys who were shooting off bottle rockets in the park one day if they planned on picking up when they were done and they looked at me like I had six heads but started gathering the debris when they realized I was sticking around till they did -- oh, and the fact that I pulled my cell phone out while I was telling them how it was illegal both to litter and to use fireworks that fly up into the air. I think my dogs were giving them the evil eye, too.

My husband says that I'm just going to tick these kids off enough to vandalize my car and/or house but they don't give me trouble when I see them again. And I don't have any valuables to keep in my car so I'm not too concerned about theft.

It's unfortunate that a few people's actions can dishearten many. While the news covers major events (good and bad), it's often easy to take the bad news to heart.

I look at how many stories I've written over the years about charity events, teachers, children and authorities reaching out and helping people; it makes a few petty car thieves seem just that - petty.

Just remember to lock up cars and houses - no need to make it easy for opportunists.