ROY, Utah (ABC4) – The Roy Police Department is seeing an increase in vehicle burglaries, and the department tells ABC4 they all have one thing in common.
“In all of the incidents, every single vehicle was left unlocked,” states Master Officer Stuart Hackworth.
Officer Hackworth says Roy police officers received nearly two dozen calls Monday morning about car break-ins — 11 of which of were reporting burglaries. All incidents, he says, were preventable.
“One of the cars was actually stolen,” Officer Hackworth explains. “The criminals were able to get ahold of the keys to the vehicle. That vehicle was later recovered in Ogden, crashed. We don’t have any suspect information at this time.”
According to Hackworth, thieve(s) took guns from two separate cars as well as two boxes of ammunition from a third vehicle. He adds, “Those guns usually end up in the hands of people that shouldn’t have them.”
To put this into perspective, Officer Hackworth says in July last year, the department responded to a total of six vehicle burglaries. They doubled that in just one day this July.
Officer Hackworth says the department is asking residents to take their valuables out of their vehicles at night and lock the doors. He tells ABC4 most car burglaries are a crime of opportunity adding that it’s extremely rare for thieves to use force to get into a parked car.
“They’ll get out,” he states. “A couple individuals walking around through neighborhoods lifting car doors (handles), if they find one that’s open, they’ll get in. If it’s locked, they move on.”
Officer Hackworth further explains that when potential thieves find an area with unlocked car doors, they are more likely to return at a later date to try again. He says if clusters of neighbors lock their vehicle doors and would-be burlglaries fail at opening a couple doors, they are more likely to ditch an area.
Officer Hackworth tells ABC4 the department responded to a rash of car vandalism a few weeks ago. He says neighbors sent in their home security footage which helped officers identify a few suspects. Charges are currenlty in review.
