HPD gives tips to avoid grand larceny

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Grand larceny has been a problem in Hattiesburg recently.

Hattiesburg Police want to make sure the public knows how to prevent this crime from happening so much.

Hattiesburg Police Officer, Lt. Jon Traxler said, "One of the common denominators we're seeing in these is people will pull up to a gas station or up to their residence, hop out, run inside, and leave their car running and unlocked. Luckily, we've had no theft of a car where a person or a child may have been left in a vehicle. We see that in other areas. We have not had that here. We're very thankful of that. But, we want to remind people when you pull up and you get out of your vehicle, you need to secure the vehicle. You need to turn it off. Don't leave it running. We had one person, where literally it was two minutes. They got out of their car, a person got in while they were inside a gas station."

If you see any suspicious activity, you can contact the Hattiesburg Police Department.