Colorado Springs police warn car owners of Holiday-season burglaries
Heads up, car owners: shopping trips and extra packages can bring thieves right to your door.
If you park your car outside or in a large public lot, it's all too easy for thieves to look inside your car and do a little shopping of their own.
"Especially as we're coming into the holiday season," said Lt. James Sokolik with the Colorado Springs Police Department. "We're gonna have a lot of the pre-Christmas shopping going on, Thanksgiving, Black Friday."
Take a look at this surveillance video, sent in by a Colorado Springs viewer who says in part:
It's that time of year - when shopping trips & extra packages can bring thieves right to your [car] door. Take a look at this viewer video. It happens so fast! A good remind to lock your vehicle. Full report tonight at 10p on @KRDONC13 pic.twitter.com/3c1HCjVBKc
— Kristen Skovira (@KristenSkovira) November 20, 2019
"It seems that we are the target of thieves," they said, "This happened in the Flying Horse area last night around 1:16 a.m."
"If we have pictures or any video of someone committing this crime that will help us tremendously," said Lt. Sokolik.
He says this is first-degree criminal trespass. Often times, crooks simply walk from car to car, opening a door or breaking a window.
Several cars in an apartment complex on the north side of the city were left outside overnight, now both have temporary windows to mask the damage.
"Don't leave visible, valuable items in your vehicle," said Sokolik. He says it's often a crime of opportunity.
"Lock your vehicle, That's the best things you can do to protect yourself from this happening," he said.
If it is locked-up but you still fall victim to crooks, reporting the crime can help police recover your stolen items and track area trends.
The numbers are not particularly encouraging. This map is just a section of Colorado Springs and the orange markers are each a report of property damage. A quick look at the list show burglaries, specific to autos, one after another. So park in well-lit areas, cover valuables and if you can, arm your alarm.
