Watch out. Car thefts are up 28 percent in 3rd Police District
The 3rd Police District, which covers South Philly on the east side of Broad Street, sent out a robocall recently warning residents that car thefts are up so far this year by 28 percent.
Community relations Officer Mike Duffy told us that home burglaries are also up 5.5 percent, but there are ways to prevent this from happening to you.
“We believe a lot of theft from autos can be avoided if residents did not leave belongings visible in their car,” Duffy said. “It is a crime of opportunity, take away the opportunity and there is less crime.”
In case you’re curious, here’s the text of the whole message:
My name is Officer Michael Duffy; I am the Crime Prevention Officer in the 3rd Police District, there has been a 28 percent increase of Theft from Autos and a 5 ½ percent increase in Burglaries. We are again urging everyone to ensure your car & home doors and windows are locked; don’t leave any items in plain view in your vehicle. If you see anyone acting suspicious near a car or home please call 911 with a description of the person so officers can respond to investigate. In the event your car or house is broken into please call 911 and request an officer to respond to take an official police report and process the area for fingerprints.
Does this match up with what you’re hearing?
My husband parked in the lot across the street from Cantina a few months back, and had his back window smashed. He did even have anything in the backseat. They only took a pair of sunglasses that were in a compartment of the car, but it was unfortunate we had to pay to have the window replaced and clean up all the glass in the back seat. Also around the same time, a neighbor had her car broken into while parked on our block.
Bikes as well…
🙁
I live on 12th street and had someone walk in my garage and steal my new bike. Also had someone try to break into my truck parked on Ellsworth. They punched in the lock but did not get in but they broke the lock and dented the door.
I recommend better lighting, camera system registered with Philly safecam and zwave automatic locks.
Better lighting would help. I can’t help but notice that about 75% of the homes with entry lights never turn them on at night. On some blocks it’s more like 90%. This drives me nuts.