Officer in charge of Parkes Police, Chief Inspector Dave Cooper, has a simple message for everyone: lock your vehicles.

"Recent incidents have been very opportunistic in nature whereby offenders are checking cars parked on the street or in driveways; if they are unlocked they enter the vehicles and will steal anything of value. If the cars are locked they move on.

"The same principle applies with things left unattended in a front yard or veranda. If its easy to grab, these offenders may target it. If its locked away they won't get the chance.

"Unfortunately the days of leaving our cars and homes unlocked due to our laid back country lifestyle are over. We need to target harden and make it harder for offenders," says Chief Inspector Cooper.

The idea behind target hardening is that these offenders are only taking advantage of soft targets, like unlocked cars or valuables left out in the open- residents need to make it too hard for them to bother.

Police have been increasing proactive patrols in response to the recent thefts but they just cannot cover everywhere at once and are calling on the community to do their bit and lock up.

Police are also urging residents to be vigilant and if you see or hear something that does not seem right, call the Parkes Police on (02) 6862 9999 or in the case of an emergency- triple zero.