Junior Jeremy Zabel never thought twice about leaving his compact disc collection in his car when he parked in front of his house on Niagara Street.

“I’m from the Cities so I’ve had my car in a lot worse areas than that,” Zabel said. “I’ve never worried about it here, but I’ll change my thinking about that.”

He estimated a loss of $2,000 when someone stole his checkbook and 100-plus compact disc collection and deck from his locked car the night of Sept. 18. The thief broke the passenger side front window of Zabel’s ’92 Honda Accord.

“That is really the sad part – who breaks into a ’92 Accord?” Zabel said.

He estimated his car was broken into around 3 a.m. At least three other cars on his street were broken into the same night.

Zabel may not have a flashy car, but Sgt. John Arnette of the Eau Claire Police Department said criminals look in all sorts of cars for stereos, compact discs, cell phones and other items of value.

Zabel admitted his compact discs could be seen from outside his car.

“(Leaving valuables visible) makes it very tempting for others who might come along,” Arnette said. “People make it very easy for the criminals to operate.”

Arnette said about six to 10 cars are broken into every day in Eau Claire.

With the holiday shopping season approaching, he predicts thefts will increase, particularly around the mall as people leave bags on their car seats.

For students, late evening or early morning hours are the most popular times for car break-ins, Arnette said.

“We just encourage people to keep things out of sight, out of mind,” he said.

Taking a few seconds to throw things like a case of compact discs in the trunk may be all it takes to prevent someone from being a victim, he said.

He warned students particularly not to leave cell phones on their car seats.

The police receive a lot of reports of stolen cell phones where the thief makes calls until the battery goes dead, Arnette said.

Officers don’t have the time and the personnel to track the calls for all the cases they receive so the best thing to do is make sure not to be vulnerable for a crime.

Arnette also said that as simple as it may seem, many students just need to secure their property, whether it be locking their bike on campus or locking their car and house doors.

“If you leave your car unlocked or your house unlocked, sooner or later you’ll become a victim,” Arnette said.

Because the chance of becoming a victim exists even when taking precautions, Arnette said students should write down the serial numbers of their valuables.

“It is so important to have serial numbers,” Arnette said, “because it is a way of tracking things.”