What happened? A new Corolla was stolen on the night of July 24th, 2006. The car had an alarm and immobiliser. The thieves by-passed these and drugged the dog as well.

So this was obviously a planned attack by relatively tech-savvy thieves who knew what they were doing, what type of car they wanted and how to get it. In other words, there is little doubt in my mind, that these were professional thieves and not your ordinary 'piper' and certainly crooks who are already in the auto business.

Why is it important to know that they're in the auto business? Well, you might want to be careful where you take your car to service or wash. I'm not saying you should stick to the big name service centres. What I'm suggesting is that you use people or companies you know and trust. It is also no secret that some stores launder parts. When you buy from such stores because you think you're getting a "great deal," you might just be perpetuating crime in the neighbourhood.

The drugging of the dog tells us that they had been watching the surroundings of the car long enough to plan and prepare. How else would they know to walk with something for the dog? This is something we have to do too if we're going to successfully keep bandits away from our homes. Plan and prepare!

The remote for the gate was in the car, so they used it quite efficiently without damaging the gate. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR REMOTE FOR GATES IN THE CAR. Too many people like to leave car insurance and gate keys in their cars because it is very convenient, isn't it? Yes, and it's also convenient for the criminals. All they have to do is click and calmly drive out as if they own the place. No one will suspect anything. So please stop leaving your keys, remotes and insurance certificates in your cars. Not only does the insurance certificate tell the bandit where you live but it also helps him easily cruise through a road block. Police, when they stop you, ask for your driver's license and insurance. If you're driving a friend's car, naturally you're going to show your friend's insurance. Most officers would have no problem with this and would let the driver proceed. So the bandit just described you as a friend and drove off with your car.

The neighbours had a get-together and they did not see anything suspicious. So the SILENT thieves probably were in the area and waited until the party folded and then decided to act. Again, this indicates to me that these criminals thought this thing out very carefully. There's a party going on the night they plan the hit? Better still because strange cars and faces are the norm. No one would suspect anything. At the end of the party, it is quite normal to see strange faces driving off in cars and it's in the night, so you'd be lucky if you even see the faces clearly.

So what can you do? If your house alarm is just on your doors and windows, you may want to extend it to your garage door. If you have neither of these, my advice would be to set an extra trap on nights that your neighbours are having functions. I would leave it up to your creativity to come up with something because you know your home best, but I'd say something that causes noise would be along the right path. You would have set this trap, so if/when it tiggers, you would know that it is not part of your regular security system and can take action quickly.

If in any kind of doubt or if you feel uncomfortable in any way, of course you can call the guards to take a spin in the area. Never any harm in that.