Car break-ins expected to increase as weather gets nicer

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - As the temperatures warm up and the days get nicer, more people head out to parks, pools, and trailheads, but so do thieves.

The Grand Junction Police Department says car break-ins happen all year long, but the department sees an increase in break-ins with the warmer summer months.

“Often, these types of crimes are crimes of opportunity,” said Callie Berkson, Public Information Coordinator for the Grand Junction Police Department. “Thieves are looking for easy and quick targets. That happens a lot of times at areas like parks or pools or trails, and people are out recreating, and they can’t or don’t want to take their valuables with them.”

Berkson says thieves will often check car doors to see if they’re unlocked or if a window is rolled down. Most thieves will look for the easy crime.

If you lock your car doors, roll up your windows and close your sunroof, Berkson says your car will be a less desirable target. Also, don’t leave your valuables in your car or in plain sight.

“If you leave a purse or a laptop or a wallet on your seat in plain sight, thieves are going to react to that, and they’re going want those valuables,” said Berkson. “So, unfortunately, they’re going to find a way to get them.”

Berkson said more often than not, items that are stolen are not able to be recovered. If a car gets broken into at your home and you or your neighbor has security footage, Berkson says you should get that footage to the local law enforcement quickly because that footage will help them track what is happening in your neighborhood, and it will increase the chance of identifying time criminal.

And as always, if you see something, say something.

“If you are out and about, you’re at a pool at a park at the trails, and you see something suspicious, maybe somebody is looking into windows, or they’re testing the car to see if it’s unlocked, make sure you call non-emergency dispatch and report that,” said Berkson. “That’s going to give our officers the opportunity say, ‘hey, there might be some crime that’s about to happen in this area,’ and they’re able to keep everybody a little bit safer.”

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