Personal safety is extremely high in Vancouver. That is, shootings, stabbings, muggings and other random acts of violence are incredibly rare. What is, however, common is property crime. If you leave any item of yours unattended, you are risking it being stolen, even if you are gone for less than a minute. Car breakins are frequent in Vancouver. Many attribute this phenomenon to Vancouver's drug problems, for desperate drug addicts have been known to break into vacant cars to pawn off stolen items. As a result, do not leave anything unattended in your car when you are out. This especially means not leaving anything visible, even if you deem it worthless, whether it be a CD, a shopping bag, sports equipment, or luggage. Never leave valuables, especially passports or purses, in your car, ever. Lock your doors and windows when you are out of your car, and keep everything in your car out of sight, even if you are going to be out of your car for one minute. Park your car in well-lit areas with a lot of pedestrian movement. A car breakin will likely not happen where people are always watching. Note that secured parking garages are not necessarily safer for your car. This is emphasized because many people have false preconceptions that since this is Canada, they can keep valuables in their cars without any consequence, but unfortunately this is not the case in Vancouver. This being said, by taking these precautions, you will very likely not have anything broken into or anything stolen.