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Police Advising Families to Remove Stick Figure Decals, Bumper Stickers, and More

Police are advising families to remove stick figure decals, as well as other signs of family life.

In what seems like a no-brainer move that should have been made years ago, police are advising drivers nationwide to remove stick figure decals from their car windows. Why? Because criminals, that’s why.

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As you might suspect, stick figure decals that detail how many kids you have and what kinds of activities they are into—as well as whether or not you might have a guard dog in your home—give criminals all kinds of insights into your family. Add to that bumper stickers that might include the name of your child’s school (and even what sports teams they play for if they are wearing moto helmets) or perhaps the place where you work, and you’ve given the bad guys perhaps even more than they need to get what they want.

What your stick figure family tells about you. Photo: OhioSAR.org

Other giveaways include parking passes that hang from your rearview mirror. Whenever you are not parked in parking lots that require the pass, you should remove it and place it out of sight.

Police and even the sticker manufacturers have actually been advising against displaying personal information on the back of your car for some time. Here is an NBC news affiliate interviewing Aaron Ellsworth of FamilyStickers.com, and their local sheriff in 2009. They urge parents to use the same common-sense practice as not putting children’s names on backpacks and shirts:

The bright side? While criminal activity is never a good thing, at least we won’t have to look at people’s stick families anymore. Silver lining.

[Gallery] A Look at Some of the Strangest Stick Figure Families:

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Need help removing the decals? Check out our post on removing bumper stickers.