UK police "stealing" from unlocked cars

       British police are combing the upscale London neighbourhood of Richmond, looking for things to steal.
       Scotland Yard said on Tuesday that officers in the southwest London borough would be checking unlocked cars for precious items - and sometimes taking them - as a reminder to owners to keep their doors locked, their windows closed and their valuables with them.
       "The message to car owners is:'Help us to help you'," Chief Inspector Duncan Slade said in a statement.
       The force said officers would either write to owners of the unsecured vehicles telling them to be more careful or - if they spotted high-value items in the car -"remove the property for safekeeping".
       A note would be left for the owners explaining what had happened.
       Scotland Yard said the exercise was meant to keep a lid on car crime in the borough, which has experienced a spike in thefts from inside cars. It said in many cases cars had been left unlocked.