Pine Prairie's police department and mayor offer tips to combat crime following recent car thefts

Pine Prairie’s Police department and mayor are offering tips to the public on how to keep your belongings safe following an incident of car theft that occurred early Saturday morning in the Evangeline Parish community.
According to PPPD Officer Josh Uhlman, “two cars were stolen from a residence in Pine Prairie at about 2:00 a.m. on Saturday,” June 2, 2018.
The officer also shared the time that the incident occurred is known because footage from another residence in town showed the two vehicles being driven “east on Magnolia Street, which would mean they were driving towards Eighth Street, at 2:18 a.m.”
Officers were unable to identify the suspects in the video surveillance, and therefore the police department asks anyone with information about this incident to call Town Hall at (337) 599-2904 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The two vehicles stolen, which have not been recovered yet, are a White 2016 Ford F-150 and a 2017 White Ford Edge.
The criminal act was made easy to commit because the owners of the vehicles had left their keys in the truck and SUV. For that reason, Uhlman stressed the importance of vehicle owners removing their keys from their car.
The officer said, “Don’t leave your keys in your car, and make sure you lock your vehicles. For a lot of thieves, it’s all about a crime of opportunity. They aren’t going to break a window because it’s too loud, so if you take your keys out of your car and you lock the doors, there is less of chance things like this will happen.
Due to these events, the town’s mayor, Quint West, also shared advice for the community on how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of crime.
Mayor West said, “I want people in Pine Prairie and in the nearby communities to be aware of the thefts that happened in our town, early this morning (June 2, 2018), because it is important that in times like these everyone pays close attention to their surroundings and report any suspicious activity they see.
“The residents in our community work hard for their belongings, but unfortunately the criminals do not take that into consideration when they choose who they are going to steal from. That’s why I think we all need to be sure and make an effort to protect our valuables by locking them away in places that few people have access to.”