Crime & Safety

Thieves Targeting Unlocked Cars

Doylestown Borough Police report a rash of thefts from unlocked cars in driveways and apartment building parking lots.

The unlocked-car bandits are back.

Eight people reported to Doylestown Borough Police this week that their unlocked vehicles had been rummaged through and various items stolen. Nearly all the incidents happened on Monday night into Tuesday, according to police reports released on Thursday.

From one car, the thief got $60 and a driver's license. From another, a Garmin GPS system worth about $225. Loose change was the only thing missing from the other cars, according to the reports.

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Borough Police Chief Jim Donnelly said Friday that this week's breakins could be just the beginning.

"They seem to come and go in waves," Donnelly said. "So we’ll be doing some extra patrolling out there, making sure that people who are wandering the street at night get stopped by police and identified and taken for help, if they need it."

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The police chief advised people to write down the serial numbers of electronics such as laptops and iPads. If they're stolen, he said police can enter the number into a national database to notify other law enforcement that the item was stolen and increase the possibility of recovering it.

Donnelly also advised people once again to get into the habit of locking their cars.

"The most important thing is, lock your car," Donnelly said. "They’ll try 50 cars to get into one. If your car is locked, they’ll usually keep going."

 

The reported incidents were:

A resident of the 400 block of Maple Avenue reported that someone entered his unlocked vehicle sometime between 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 and 5:20 AM on Tuesday, October 9 and removed approximately $60 and his driver’s license from his wallet, which had been in the center console.

A resident of the 100 block of Cottage Street reported that someone entered her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in her driveway, and removed an unknown amount of loose change. The incident occurred sometime between 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 and 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

A resident of the 500 block of Maple Avenue reported that someone rummaged through her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in her driveway, and removed an undetermined amount of loose change sometime between 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 and 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

A resident of the 700 block of S. Chubb Drive reported that someone entered her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in her driveway, rummaged through the contents, and removed an undetermined amount of loose change. The incident occurred sometime during the overnight hours of Monday, Oct. 8 into Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Someone rummaged through a vehicle parked on Davis Road sometime during the overnight hours of Monday, Oct. 8 into Tuesday, Oct. 9. The victim reported that items were strewn about the vehicle, but the only thing missing was several dollars in loose change.

Items were stolen from two vehicles parked in the lot of Mercer Park Apartments sometime during the overnight hours of Monday, October 8 into Tuesday, October 9.  The first victim reported that someone rummaged through her unlocked vehicle and removed an undetermined amount of loose change. The second victim reported that his unlocked vehicle was also rummaged through, and a Garmin Nuvi GPS valued at approximately $225 was taken. 

A resident of Oak Terrace Apartments reported that someone rummaged through his unlocked vehicle sometime between 10 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7 and the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 9 and removed an unknown amount of loose change.


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