It's something anyone who lives is a cold climate has probably done–gone outside to turn the car on to defrost and warm up, and then gone back into the house or apartment.
With the cold weather gripping much of the nation, thousands of drivers are starting their cars and leaving them idling for a few minutes while they warm up on these frigid mornings, but police say it's a bad idea because it creates a crime of opportunity for thieves. Just this month, several dozen cars in six states were stolen as their drivers left them idling in driveways or on the street. Eleven cars were stole in a single morning in Indianapolis earlier this week.
This type of crime usually spikes in the winter months. In St. Louis, 16% more cars were stolen in January 2014 than the previous years. Officials are worried because the crimes usually occur in the mornings when students are waiting for school buses and the thieves will take off at a high rate of speed, endangering anyone in their path. In some areas, gangs of thieves are watching drivers start their cars and then swoop in to steal several cars in a single neighborhood.
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