While Plainfield crime stats are down as reported by Director Hellwig to the Council this past Monday (covered by the Courier here), a wave of car breakins has erupted as if to taunt the Director.
Residents reported to the Hillside Area Neighborhood Watch on Wednesday as many as six car breakins on Tuesday evening, with windows being smashed and items grabbed, including GPS units (and in one case, the holder WITHOUT the unit).
Car breakins were reported on Wednesday evening in the Oak Lane neighborhood, according to one reader. Once again, GPS units. And a possible home invasion.
Seems like GPS units are a hot item.
Hide it or take it in the house, if you have one.
Do we need to add 'lock your car'?
Posts
6 comments:
Dan, that was my "holder without the unit". Two weeks ago, My car was broken into at the Alexander Hamilton rest stop on the Turnpike and my Navigon 7100 was taken along with house keys and alarm remote. Talk about a scramble to cover one's bases. And that happened at 7:30 on a bright sunny Sunday morning right in front of the rest stop, in a period of about 3 minutes.
Anyway, Wednesday morning we woke up to find another broken car window, glass all over the place, and the missing gps holder. Luckily I had vowed to take the actual gps unit OUT of the car every time I leave it. Now I have to find a new holder to replace the unique style that fits my surviving gps.
My point, (and I do have a point) is that times are tough all over, not just in Plainfield. I don't know where these units are going, there must be a glut of them on the street by now. My advice is to use a tote bag of some kind to stash all your valuables in when you leave your car and just lug them with you. Lock your car, and if you can, park behind your house, in your garage, or at least at the top of your driveway if you have one.
I'm thinking of putting a sign in my car window "valuables removed-get a job". OK, maybe not the 'get a job' part.
It certainly could have been worse. Hey, at least the car glass people are doing well. ;-}
Sorry you've had the hassles, but appreciate your sense of humor. One question, tho: who has room to park their vehicle inside the garage?
When I was broken into a while back and went to the glass guys, it was interesting to hear them tell how they knew when there was a wave of breakins from the spike in their biz. Wonder if the cops check with them for patterns -- which could then be plugged into the police GPS system.....
Hmmmmmm.....
Dan,there were several arrests made yesterday. Those individuals were definitely responsible for the latest rash of car burglaries. The division has made additional arrests over the past few months. Each time we hope that each arrest will mark the end of this saga. Unfortunately, the Medussa has many heads.
Your post about prevention is appreciated.
Director Martin Hellwig
As I always say..if someone breaks into my car, I may not be happy, but they had to break into it to get what they wanted, I didn't leave the door open. When you do that, all you did was send out an invitation to someone you don't know..plain and simple. THANK GOD I have nothing of value in my car..GPS or otherwise!! And nice to see Director Hellwig reading this post...and slight correction..it's hydra, not Medussa ( I had to check it myself also )
Dan,
I was a victim of the Tues break-in as well. However, the thief took my Sirius radio, not my GPS. I live in North Plainfield on the border of Plainfield.
When the police came they also confirmed a rash of these attacks. I immediately deactivated my radio and reported the SID to the police so if the thief tries to pawn it, they'll be snagged.
I always lock my doors, but I've never felt the need to remove my radio.
Luckily Sirius didn't want to lose a customer and within 24 hours my window was replaced and I had a new radio installed - which I will remove and slip into my purse every night.
One more way that crimials take our comfort away from us....
Please, Director Hellwig, catch more of these punks and lock them up for a LONG TIME!
my neighbors have decided the leave their car doors open and keep the car empty to avoid the expense of replacing broken windows.
Post a Comment