Carports, although they effectively protect a vehicle, don’t offer the same safety as a brick-and-mortar garage. This isn’t to say that the structure will easily collapse on the vehicle, but, instead, that the openness of a carport allows thieves and burglars to break into the car easily. Although various zoning laws require carports to be in the back of someone’s property – theoretically out of sight – someone looking to steal will cut through a property to the back. After all, many home break-ins start from the back or side of a house – not the front. Although carports have different degrees of coverage ranging from a basic metal or polyethylene roof to full, all-around coverage, a car is safe from rain and snow but not burglars.
One newspaper in Australia, the Manning River Times suggests that valuables shouldn’t be left in a car when it’s covered by a carport, as well as any other outdoor structures used for covering a car or other vehicle. While leaving a cell phone or iPod charging overnight might seem safer when the car is in the back of your home as opposed to the street, a car is susceptible to break-ins any time it’s exposed.
The obvious solution to this issue is to not leave any valuables in a car. While stealing a car from a carport could prove to be difficult, especially if the carport is located at the back of your home, breaking into a car doesn’t involve driving away with the vehicle. Even if the item is small, like a cell phone, iPod, or GPS, the electronic device should still be brought inside. If the device simply has to be left in a car parked in a carport, it should be obscured from view. This way, someone looking inside your car wouldn’t have a clear incentive to break inside and steal anything.