Fayette County has low crime rates compared to neighboring counties. That does not mean residents should fail to take precautions to avoid criminal activity, such as keeping vehicles locked at all times and leaving no valuables in plain sight.
An example of what the failure to secure a vehicle can result in came in the form of an Oct. 27 report to Fayetteville police.
Fayetteville Police Department spokesperson Ann Marie Burdett said officers in a telephone report were told that the complainant parked their vehicle outside a friend’s home overnight. Upon returning to their vehicle the following morning, the owner observed their vehicle had been entered, and a wallet stolen, Burdett said.
There was no forced entry into the vehicle reported, which almost always means the vehicle was unlocked.
In another entering auto case, Fayetteville officers on Oct. 27 met with a vehicle owner who reported that, on returning from work, it was discovered that the car had been entered and rummaged, said Burdett.
The complainant said they looked through their car and noticed the items from the glove box had been dumped out, and loose change was taken from their car, Burdett noted.
There were no signs of forced entry made on the vehicle, Burdett added.
Aside from having an unlocked vehicle entered, there are times when thieves will break-in a vehicle if something of value is spotted.
In Tyrone, an entering auto incident occurred on Oct. 25 at a medical office on Carriage Oaks Drive in the Southampton Village Shopping Center.
Officers were told the vehicle was entered between 7:50 a.m. and 2:20 p.m. while it was parked at the rear of the building, said Tyrone Police Department spokesman Philip Nelson.
Nelson said a rear passenger window was smashed, and a camera and bag were stolen from the rear compartment of the Jeep.
