I live in a low crime area, but we do have gangs of inner city youth coming from Hartford to our area a few times a year to steal unlocked cars. I've always kept the car locked since an incident 20 years ago on New Years Eve where someone got into our cars, and did malicious damage. I was pretty sure who did it, but the cops didn't really care. There had been some kids with mini bikes riding up and down our road at high speed, and one neighbor had called the cops on them, I had just yelled at them to slow down. I had a lavender sachet torn apart and flower buds all over my car- my husband had about a hundred CDs in his car and they took them, threw them in the road and drove over them. The neighbor had their streetside lighting bashed, and a few other neighbors mentioned random damage to mailboxes etc.
We lock the house at night but not during the day but I will if I know I am home alone for a long period. There are only a dozen houses on this street (dead end) and 3 past me so I know what the usual traffic and usual vehicles are.
We removed the bushes around the house. There's a stone wall across the front of the property which psychologically at least, says stay out. We do have a shotgun but have never used it.