SALISBURY — The police department has created a new gun crime initiative that encourages citizens to not leave guns of any kind in their vehicles.

The initiative is known as “Stolen Gun = Crime Gun.” Police are urging people to not use their vehicles to store weapons.

A large percentage of guns are stolen from unlocked vehicles and then are used in the commission of a crime, said Capt. Brian Stallings.

Since January, there have been 259 guns stolen from vehicles. Of those stolen, 66.4% were from unlocked vehicles. Out of the total number of incidents, 9.6% had a gun taken from a vehicle.

But there’s been a decrease in overall thefts from motor vehicles, officials said. From January to present, thefts from motor vehicles have decreased by 3%.