Officials reporting rash of break-ins of vehicles
By John Joyce
Published in News on January 27, 2015 1:58 PM
More than four dozen vehicle break-ins have occurred in Wayne County since the start of the year, Wayne County Sheriff's Office officials said Monday.
The uptick in break-ins, one official said, actually began before the 2014 holiday season.
It is something Maj. Tom Effler has not seen in an almost 30-year career.
"I've never seen anything like this before," he said.
Twelve more vehicle break-ins were reported to the Goldsboro Police Department Monday alone.
GPD has received 26 reports to-date of motor vehicle break-ins since Jan. 1.
"They are sporadic, happening all over the city," Capt. Dwayne Dean said.
It is the same out in the county.
Effler said the break-ins are not restricted to any one area.
Normally these kinds of spikes are relegated to a certain area. Authorities flood the area with patrols and eventually the responsible parties are charged, Effler explained.
That type of response has proved ineffective in this case.
"They are taking place mostly at night and not in just one area-- it's happening in Rosewood, off of (N.C. Highway) 111, in the Buckswamp area and now the south end," he said.
The break-ins reported to GPD Monday were contained to the area behind Outback Steakhouse on North Park Drive.
Several cars were entered on Tonya Drive, Michelle Dawn Drive, Christopher Allen Drive and Sunset Place -- in some cases as many as three vehicles were entered in one yard. Eleven of the 12 cars were left unlocked.
Dean said investigators have some pretty good leads on that particular set of break-ins, but over all they are too spread out to narrow down a suspect or suspects.
Effler said the vast swath of territory and frequency of occurrences are just too wide and too many for one group to be responsible.
The majority of the break-ins are occurring in the owner's front yards, according to the press release, and during the nighttime hours.
"A lot of (victims) just aren't locking their doors is what it is," Effler said.
He went on to explain that a motor vehicle break-in is a crime of opportunity. A car left unlocked is an easy target.
Not every thief wants to break out a window to get in, many will just jiggle the door handle and it if opens, great, if not, they move on, Effler said.
That does not mean a locked car is necessarily secure.
"The only thing standing between them and the items they want is a sheet of glass," Dean said.
Effler agreed.
He cautioned that valuables left out in plain sight will make any car a target.
Sheriff Larry Pierce addressed the break-ins in a prepared statement issued along with the press release.
"Probably 99 percent of these break-ins are in unlocked vehicles. It is a shame that you cannot leave your vehicle unlocked in your own yard, but that is the reality in today's time," Pierce said.
And, while some criminals will be emboldened by the sight of electronics or deposit slips or things of that nature left out in plain view, most thieves do not want to draw attention to themselves, Pierce's statement read.
"That does happen, but most of the time the thief does not want to make any more noise than they have to when committing their crime, especially in residential areas," he said.
Effler suggested storing valuables in the trunk or, better still, not leaving them in the car at all.
And, he added, locking one's car every time the driver gets out of it for any period of time, regardless of where they are -- home, work or otherwise -- is the best preventative measure the car owner can take.
"That locked door does deter a lot of people," he said.
Any break-ins or suspicious activity residents witness should be reported, and might go a long way to solving some of these ongoing cases, Effler said.
Anyone who witnesses suspicious activity is asked to either dial 911 or to contact the Wayne County Sheriff's Office directly at 919-731-1480.