Operation “Pica Pica” teaches valuable lesson

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amber Bressler
  • 435th Air Base Wing public affairs
LANDSTUHL, Germany --  Did you lock your car and secure your valuables after leaving your vehicle today? If not, you may want to double check.

The Landstuhl Polizei and 569th U.S. Security Forces Squadron did a sweep of the Landstuhl and Ramstein-Miesenbach areas Sept. 18 for any unsecured vehicles. The operation was known as "Pica Pica," which is the Latin word for Magpie, a bird that steals. A total of 700 vehicles were checked during the operation and 40 were found unlocked.

"We have had many break-ins and cars left unsecure in Landstuhl," said Polizei officer Gerd Schmarr, chief of operations. "Tonight, we take everything out of an unsecured vehicle and leave a letter explaining what has happened, then lock the car if we can, and take the belongings back to the Polizei station for the owner to come and pick up."

So far this year, a total of 265 vehicle break-ins have been reported to the 569th USFPS, according to Master Sgt. William Crawford, 569th USFPS NCIOC of operations. Regardless of the secured or unsecured state of a vehicle, one common denominator exists -- valuable items are left in plain sight in the vehicle, he said.

"We needed a reminder that each U.S. military member in the KMC is responsible for safeguarding official equipment and information," said Brig. Gen. Bill Bender, KMC commander. "This is a force protection issue, a criminal issue, and it's the local law to lock our doors. Thanks to our partnership with the Landstuhl Polizei, we reinforced our policy of constant vigilance without serious consequences."

And for those that had to track their belongings down, it served as a lesson they will hopefully not forget.

"We had a variety of reactions from people when they came to pick up their belongings," said Jurgen Traub, chief of polizei in Landstuhl. "Some were thankful it was not a real theft, some received their things wordless, but very few were angry."

"We hope our community as a whole will benefit from the operation through increased awareness," said Capt. Justin Secrest, 569th USFPS operations officer. "We were glad to support the Polizei in this operation and are thankful it went off without confrontation or incident."

The 569th USFPS offers these tips to help you protect your vehicle and property:
 Lock your vehicle at all times
 Remove all high value items from plain sight
 Park in a well lit and well traveled area
 Remove GPS units and GPS mounts from vehicle when not being used
 Park vehicle in a locked garage if available

"Please maintain situational awareness of your vehicle and property," said Sergeant Crawford. "Certainly, host nation and military police agencies work to make our environment more secure, but your help in following these simple tips can help make our community safer for everyone."