(KATV) Conway - Car break-ins don't
just happen at night or in what are considered "bad parts of town".
In Conway, the New Year has started with an uptick of car break-ins. 24 so far
this year.
It takes less than a
minute for a thief to break your car window and take anything in reach. Some
law enforcement agencies estimate up to a quarter of car thefts are from
unlocked cars. What both scenarios have in common is valuables left out in the
open.
It's a crime of
opportunity and nobody is immune from becoming a victim. Ben Alexander says, "One
of my really good friends, his car got broken into. They punched the glass and
stole his wallet and ripped his CD player out of his car."
Alexander says he is
now compulsive about making sure his car is not inviting. "I'll walk away after
I have already checked it twice and run back and think did I lock the doors,
did I hide everything, did I take all my valuables out?"
Latresha Woodruff
says, "You don't think it's going to happen to you until it happens to
you." Woodruff, with the Conway Police Department says half the break-ins
happened to cars with valuables in plain sight whether doors are locked or not.
"And they've been smashing the windows to get to them."
Police don't have
hard leads and says several thefts happened on the same day, "Six of them are likely
connected, probably the same person or group."
The thefts are
widespread in the city, not easily handled by patrol. Woodruff says
unfortunately many of these cases go unsolved. "Once we get out there it's over
and done with."
Channel Seven
contacted several of the victims. They said their wallets were stolen with
credit cards, cash and drivers license. One victim had all her relatives social
security cards in her purse.
In one case, the officer on the scene took it upon himself to drive to the closest dumpster and found one victim's empty purse and the ID of another.
Even though 24 car
break-ins is high compared to last year. August of 2010, Conway had 51 car
break-in reports. For that story, click here.
