The Duluth Police Department has a very important message for residents: stop leaving your car unattended!

You have probably heard this time and time again, as winter rolls around and so do brutal temperatures. Many will leave their cars running if they are quickly running an errand in an effort to keep their car warm.

Many will also leave their car running outside of their home to let it warm up a bit before heading off somewhere. This is especially prevalent this month, as we have seen an arctic blast of air for most of February up until this point.

With more winter to come, the Duluth Police Department is telling everyone to quit these practices as it makes it easy for car thieves to make off with your car. They shared this announcement on their Facebook page Monday (February 15).

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On the same day they issued the warning, the Duluth Police Department says they received six reports of stolen cars because of keys inside and engines running unattended. They also stated that they have taken twenty-five reports of stolen vehicles since the beginning of February.

There are ways to warm up your car and avoid vehicle theft. The DPD suggests investing in an automatic car starter so you can start your car remotely but the doors remain locked.

They also offer more obvious suggestions like not leaving your keys in your car and always having someone in your vehicle if you are leaving it running. You would think this would go without saying but apparently not!

Earlier in the month, city officials and the DPD stated that car thefts were on the rise in the Duluth area, due in part to these very reasons. We still have a lot of winter to go so if you do leave your car unattended, you should consider the tips mentioned above.

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