Is it worth the risk to warm up your car?

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Local police departments are reminding drivers of the risks of leaving cars running while unlocked.

While it may be a habit to start your car on cold mornings, the Decatur Police Department says they tend to see an uptick in calls as the winter begins. In colder months, they see multiple cars stolen each week.

"When you start your car and leave it running with the keys in it, you're just inviting somebody to come along and help themselves to your car," said Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel. "Over 82% of our burglaries to motor vehicles are to unlocked cars."

If you want to warm your car up before your morning commute, there are safer choices. If your car has a remote start option, this is the best alternative, as it only works if the car is locked. DPD also recommends installing after-market starters in cars that do not have them. Carrying around a second key is also an option.

"If you have a second key, you can use your primary key to start the vehicle and then use the second key to lock it so it is still safe," said Sergeant Scott Flannery with the Macon County Sheriff's Office. "You can also always actually sit in your car while it's warming up."

Regardless of how safe you may think your neighborhood is, stealing a running car is not that difficult. Even if you take your eyes off your vehicle for a minute, a thief could have driven out of sight.

This time of year can also lead to an increase of thefts from items inside cars. Chief Brandel says if you keep Christmas gifts or anything else of value inside your car, you are increasing your risk of theft.

"This is not a complex issue and it can be frustrating at times that we have to talk about it every single year," said Chief Brandel. "The simplest thing you can do, and really the only thing you need to do, is make sure you don't leave your car unlocked."

If your car is stolen, call 911, and give any information you have about the vehicle. Those details will be shared with officers from multiple departments so they can start searching for the car.