/
Print
Services
Residents
Business
Visitors
Government
City of Knoxville
Blogs
KPD News & Alerts
Concerning Trend of Guns Bei...
Concerning Trend of Guns Being Stolen from Vehicles
The Knoxville Police Department has continued to see an alarming trend of firearms being stolen from vehicles.
As of November 15, the KPD had received 103 vehicular burglary reports that included the theft of a firearm, according to the provisional data. Of those, the vehicle was either left unlocked or accessed via unknown means a vast majority of the time. The preliminary data indicates that in vehicular burglaries where a firearm was reportedly stolen, the vehicle was left unlocked or there was no sign of forced entry in upwards of 85 percent of those cases.
That is a concerning trend that unnecessarily puts the public at risk. Stolen firearms are often used in the commission of other violent crimes or dangerous felonies.
Vehicular burglaries, especially those involving the theft of a firearm, are largely crimes of opportunity and preventable through simple safety measures. An unoccupied vehicle should never be left unlocked for any amount of time, especially if a gun or any other valuables are left in the vehicle. Valuables should either be removed from the vehicle or secured and hidden away out of sight. Firearms should always either be removed from the vehicle or stored in a locked compartment of the vehicle when the vehicle is left unoccupied.
Gun owners should also keep record of the serial number for all of their firearms. If a gun is reported as stolen without knowledge of the serial number, it can make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify and recover that gun.
More often than not, if a vehicle is locked and there are no valuables in view, potential thieves will move on to easier targets. Criminals will take the path of least resistance. By simply removing valuables, including all firearms, from an unoccupied vehicle and locking the vehicle at all times, a crime with dangerous implications could almost always be prevented.
Posted by
serland
On 24 November, 2020 at 11:08 AM
Tags
West Hills
South Knoxville
Cumberland Avenue
KAT
Website
communications
Cumberland
free fare
Christi Branscom
Knoxville Bar Foundation
roadwork
redevelopment
311
United Way
CAC
Market Square
CBID
Let's Move
Urban agriculture
community gardens
Beardsley Farm
kids
fountains
neighborhood
NUSA
Houston Texas
City People
IACMI
economic development
ORNL
Edgewood Park
music
community
James Agee
library
PrideFest
Henley Bridge
marriage
KPD
Rausch
public records
Festival on the 4th
Transit
Smart Growth
climate
sustainability
Parks
Bearden
Everly
Jackson Avenue
development
» more
Recent Posts
April 23, 2024 Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory Newsletter Available
April 16, 2024 Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory Newsletter Available
Stadium Halfway Completed: Wooden Roof Installed - Next Up, Light Poles!
Meet Your Neighborhood Firefighters! Hundreds Attend Easter Egg Hunt / Open House at Station 12
April 9, 2024 Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory Newsletter Available
City Employee Hard at Work for 50 Years: 'I Love My Job, I Love Keeping Busy'
April 2, 2024 Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory Newsletter Available
Residents Weigh in on Future of McClung Redevelopment
March 26, 2024 Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory Newsletter Available
Urban Wilderness: 1 week, 2 milestones
Archives
April 2024 (8)
March 2024 (8)
February 2024 (10)
January 2024 (10)
December 2023 (16)
November 2023 (11)
October 2023 (11)
September 2023 (5)
August 2023 (13)
July 2023 (11)
June 2023 (14)
May 2023 (13)
Group Blogs
City Blog
KAT Blog
KPD News & Alerts
Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes Project
More...
Post Categories
City Events
City Services
Cumberland Ave.
Downtown
Government
KAT
Mayor Kincannon
Meetings
Neighborhoods
Outdoor & Recreation
Public Safety
Redevelopment
Road Work
Safety Complex
South Waterfront
Sustainability