Ways to keep your stuff safe at the gym

A guy enters a gym dressed in workout wear, so no one notices him slip into the locker room, where he proceeds to fill his backpack with wallets. It doesn’t matter if there’s a lock — he can pop one of those things in seconds. After finding a set of keys, he heads out to the parking lot, where he presses a button to make the owner’s car flash its lights and beep. Then he lets himself in and drives away.

Unbelievable, right?

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

• 
• 
• 
• 

(Saucony/ ) - Apparel companies are getting more creative about where they’re putting pouches — such as the one on the back of Saucony’s Ignite LT Shimmel top ($40 at www.saucony.com).

“What’s unbelievable is that people think their property is safe there,” says Detective Sonya Richardson of the Falls Church Police Department, who’s been investigating a growing number of gym thefts. She gets bulletins at least once a week from neighboring jurisdictions about the crime, which is attractive to burglars looking for easy prey. Locker rooms are smorgasbords of unattended jewelry, electronics, credit cards and cash, but they don’t have security cameras and often are designed to allow for privacy.

Across the D.C. area, police departments, gym owners and members have figured that out the hard way. “It doesn’t seem like it’s any one gym; it’s county rec facilities to large gym chains,” says Kraig Troxell, public information officer for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The office has noticed such an uptick in the crime that it sent out gym theft prevention tips in its March 2011 Neighborhood Watch Newsletter.

An organized crime

The first piece of advice is always to leave your stuff at home, but that’s not feasible for people squeezing in that body-sculpting class after work. So they haul it with them to the locker room, where an astounding number of people don’t use locks at all, according to Rebecca Innocenti, a Montgomery County police officer, who’s also responded to her fair share of calls at gyms. “People tend to believe they don’t need to secure items because they’re in a community of members,” she says.

For the most part, Innocenti explains, gym thefts aren’t just cases of sticky fingers. “These are people whose sole intent is to gain access to your property. It’s their job. It’s methodical. They’re very organized individuals or groups,” she says.

That’s why even a lock won’t necessarily be enough protection, adds Richardson, who says a quick peek on Google will teach anyone how to crack them open. “Think like a bad guy. You have to make it harder for them,” she says. Richardson keeps her keys on her body or in her line of vision when she’s at the gym. One idea: Leave your water bottle on the ground and use that treadmill drink holder for your stuff.

It also pays to know your gym’s crime-prevention policies. “You want to know your facility, know the staff, know that they’re committed to keeping valuables safe,” says Capt. David Taylor of the D.C. police department. And if you do find that something’s missing, even if it’s just a few bucks or an old watch you don’t care about, you should always report it, both to your gym and the police. “If a facility has had 100 thefts but only one is reported, we don’t know there’s a pattern,” Taylor says.