Maybe it's because I grew up in Beresford and as a kid Sioux Falls was the big city, but I don't remember a time when I thought leaving my keys in my car while it is unlocked with the engine running was a good idea. I shut off the vehicle, removed the key, and locked the doors.

That leads me to what the Sioux Falls Police Department posted on their Facebook that: "During the week of April 18-24, the Sioux Falls Police Department received 22 stolen vehicle reports. Almost every stolen vehicle taken during this period had the keys left in them. Removing the keys from your vehicle will help prevent these incidents from happening."

So the police are urging citizens to actually take responsibility for themselves and their property. The citizens of Sioux Falls fail again, still.

I can already hear the responses like I did a few months ago when I wrote about this.

"I am not committing a crime, the person who stole my car is."

Yes, you are right. They committed a crime. However my car was not stolen because I didn't leave mine running with the keys in the ignition. I do this for the same reason I don't leave an iPod sitting out in public, because someone will likely take it. I am responsible for my property.

Another question on this whole leaving the car running with the keys in it: WHY!?!? It's April, not January. The high temps last week were between 58 and 74 degrees. Why does the engine need to run? It doesn't. There is not one good reason, outside of driving a massive diesel machine of some kind, that you must leave the engine running for a quick stop.

I could have another embolism screaming the same thing the police department is urging citizens to do, but I'm not going to. Go ahead, leave your keys in your car with the engine running. When your car is stolen you'll blame the criminal and do what almost no one is willing to do these days and that is take responsibility for themselves and blame others. It's the cool thing to do these days.

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