By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Lock your cars!
A number of vehicle break-ins and vandalism have been occurring throughout the entire community, something Niles Police Chief Ric Huff said is a little abnormal.
"Usually, the break-ins are isolated in pockets. They happen in one particular area. But these break-ins are happening over the entire community, with the hardest hit areas being the northeast and far west sides of town," Huff said.
Huff stated the person or persons involved in crimes are looking for unlocked cars with valuable items inside.
"Change is being taken and anything they feel has value. We've also had some reports of stereos being stolen. It's just amazing how many people leave valuable items in their cars," Huff said.
In order to hinder those thefts, Huff said residents should always lock their vehicles and be sure to remove any valuable items or lock them in the trunk.
"I check my vehicles every night to make sure they are locked and nothing valuable is left inside. It's important that people do the same to avoid break-ins from happening," he said.
If someone sees a break-in happening, or notices someone walking around their neighborhood they don't recognize, Huff said to call 911 immediately.
"We're not sure if this is the same person committing these crimes or if it's different people. It's just strange that it's happening in such a wide-spread area. In past experiences, we have tied one person to over 100 car break-ins. This is just an unfortunate type of crime that seems to go in spurts. Things go well for one or two years, then we get a large number of reports," Huff said.