Thefts from cars on rise despite arrests

BRICK TOWNSHIP — Car thieves have hit locked as well as unlocked cars during the past several months, and the number of car burglaries is still rising, police said.

The main attraction for thieves appears to be items "in plain view," like global positioning system units, iPods, electronics, wallets and purses, Capt. John E. Rein Jr. said.

"It's anything that might be visible, laying on the dashboard or on the center console," he said. "They appear to be targeted specifically. It's not like they are just hitting a car for anything they can."

The police department has received 56 reports of thefts from cars over the past month. While most of the burglaries happened at night, they have also occurred in the daytime, he said.

"That's more than usual," Rein said. "The total on an average basis has been higher than usual. It doesn't matter whether cars have been locked or unlocked."

Police have made a number of arrests in connection with car thefts this year, but the thefts have continued, Rein said.

"We've made nearly a dozen arrests since the beginning of the year," he said.

In a recent incident, cars were burglarized "in broad daylight" during a football game at a local school, Rein said.

"Even though the car is locked, they are still punching out the windows," he said. "It happens in driveways and private parking areas besides public parking areas."

Police are urging residents to record the serial numbers of portable devices to help track and recover stolen items. Residents should wipe any marks left on windshields from electronics such as GPS units, police said, so the thief will not know to look for the units.

They also suggest that all personal items be removed from plain view and valuables removed from the car.

Residents should try and park in welllighted areas whenever possible and lock their cars at all times, Rein said.

Residents are also urged to call police anytime they see something suspicious, such as people looking into cars, strangers out late at night, unusual noises during off hours, car doors left open or ajar, or car alarms going off, police said.