There seems to be a growing demand for pickup truck tailgates in Dallas. In East Dallas alone, during the last three weeks, nine pickup owners came out in the morning to find their tailgates missing.
Tailgate theft has been a problem for years. Tailgates get damaged from use or by minor rear-end collisions and as pickup trucks became more and more popular, more and more tailgates got damaged. This would be a simple supply and demand problem if it was not for the criminal mindset that "makes it OK" for some people to find free replacement tailgates in someone else's driveway.
A closed tailgate without a lock can be removed in about 30 seconds by someone who knows how to do it; the only tool usually required is a cable cutter. An open tailgate with or without a lock is equally as vulnerable. A tail gate that is closed and locked will probably not be bothered -- breaking a lock takes time, makes noise and makes the tailgate less valuable when the thief tries to sell it to someone who buys such stolen parts and then resells them to the public.
A new or replacement tailgate can cost several hundred, up to one thousand, dollars. On the other hand, a lock to protect your tailgate can cost as little as $25 (do an Internet search for "tailgate locks" to see what's available).
From the East Dallas Blog : In the wake of the recent East Dallas tailgate thefts, Dallas police Sgt Tony Takats made the following suggestions to pickup owners to prevent the theft of their tailgates:
"Park in the garage, in a well-lit area or near a light with a motion sensor. Use your tailgate lock or get one if you don't have one. If the thief can open a tailgate, it's fairly easy to cut the cables and carry it off, Takats said. But thieves aren't interested in breaking a lock because they don't want damaged tailgates."
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