Car Break-Ins A Popular Crime In Pueblo

Pueblo Police said car break-ins are becoming a popular crime in the Steel City. They said officers get several calls on car break-ins every day.

?There are things like the money inside your purse, you will probably never get it back,? said Officer Nick Martinez.

Police often call it a crime of opportunity. It can all happen in a matter of seconds.

?You’re walking by and you need money that day, and you see a purse, then that’s just a target,? said Martinez.

Nationwide Insurance said every year more than $1 billion in personal items are stolen from cars.

A disturbing statistic, that Pueblo police don?t want you to be a part of. Martinez offered several tips to help keep you under the radar and safe from criminals.

?Make sure you take out all of your belongings out of your car, so they aren’t visible to whoever might be walking by or looking in,? said Martinez.

Don?t make it easy for the thieves. Martinez said to lock purses and any electronics in the trunk. While these tips could be considered no-brainers, many don?t take his advice.

?We do take a lot of criminal trespass to cars and trucks. They are more frequent than other things, like burglaries and stuff like that,? said Martinez.

The thieves aren?t always easy to find.

?We catch them here and there. We need the public’s help because they are our eyes when we aren’t around,? said Martinez.

He said when they do find the thieves they can often link them to other break-ins in the area.

Police said break-ins are a year-round problem, but that they see spikes around the holidays.