Rules of the Road: You can deter vehicle theft

There are some obvious ways to protect your vehicle from being stolen, such as, not leaving your keys in the vehicle and never leaving your vehicle unlocked.

There is another way that is being provided here in Green Valley by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers called “Mark and Guard.”

The Sheriff’s Department used grant money to purchase the equipment needed to etch your vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number on all of its windows.

All vehicles have a unique VIN number that identifies that vehicle and the registered owner.

The VIN number is on your vehicle’s registration form that you must carry in your vehicle at all times.

Car thieves sometimes change the VIN plate that is located on the outside of the vehicle, just below the front windshield, in front of the driver.

By changing the VIN number, law enforcement might not recognize that it is a wanted stolen vehicle.

If the VIN number is etched on all of your vehicle’s windows, the car thief cannot afford to change all your windows, so might decide not to steal your vehicle.

For free, SAV will etch all of the windows on your vehicle with its VIN.

SAV plans to provide this service on the first Saturday of the month, between noon and 3 p.m., at the SAV garage area near the Government Center.

The process only takes about 20 minutes.

Rules of the Road is a public service from the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers in Green Valley.