Car Window Tint and Burglary Deterrence, Part 1

While many understandably view window tinting as an aesthetic or cosmetic upgrade only, the reality is this is just one of several prominent features of a professional vehicle window tint. While window tint does indeed add a sleek, modern aesthetic to many vehicles, it also brings added benefits like UV ray protection, crash safety and, most importantly for many vehicle owners, enhanced vehicle security.

At Laketown Speed and Sound, we’re proud to offer window tinting services for any vehicle owner, including for those primarily looking to deter burglary and other vehicle-involved crimes. In this two-part blog series, we’ll go over everything you need to know about window tint and other methods in this area, from how typical vehicle crimes take place to why window tint helps prevent them, plus some other tips we offer clients in this realm.

car window tint burglary deterrence

The “Smash and Grab”

While vehicle theft itself is certainly a significant issue, and one window tint helps prevent in similar ways, we’ll focus today on vehicle burglaries, which are more common. In many cases, these can be classified using the “smash and grab” designation that burglars tend to favor.

This approach, as the name suggests, is a very rapid one where a thief quickly assesses valuables inside the vehicle, then uses some kind of tool to smash the car window and steal whatever they can. Smash and grab jobs often take place in areas where parked vehicles don’t have much additional security, such as on poorly-lit streets or in empty parking garages. In many situations, police will see a number of smash and grab incidents all in a short period of time in the same area, generally from a single thief hitting multiple vehicles.

Window Tint as a Deterrent

Window tint, however, serves as an excellent deterrent to such car burglars. The primary reason why: It stops them from being able to view what’s inside the vehicle.

Car burglars aren’t just breaking into every car they see. This is a risky thing they’re doing – as such, they tend to prioritize the cars that appear to have the highest-value items inside. But if they can’t see those items due to your tint, they’re far more likely to move on to another car that’s more of a sure thing.

Protecting Personal Information

On top of simply making your car a less likely target for burglars, window tint also prevents another type of theft: Identity theft. Many of us will unknowingly leave papers, pictures, IDs or other personal information in our cars when we park, and the wrong set of eyes on this information could lead to significant identity theft issues. Even if it doesn’t, such personal information often makes it easier for a criminal to track you. Once again, however, window tint prevents any of this from happening by making such items or documents impossible to see from outside.

For more on the benefits of window tint for burglary and other vehicle crime prevention, or to learn about any of our window tint, car stereos or other automotive services, speak to the staff at Laketown Speed and Sound today.