Courtesy Photo/Cape Elizabeth Police Department
CAPE ELIZABETH — Cape Elizabeth Police Department is urging residents to be watchful after reports of car burglaries over the past several weeks.
On Sunday April 3, the police department stated that its officers have responded to two “smash-and-grab” motor vehicle burglary reports and one break-in after a car was left unlocked.
“We have had three car break-ins thus far, one was an unlocked vehicle and the other two were smash-and-grab, which means someone actually smashes out the window to get in,” said Cape Elizabeth Police Chief Paul Fenton.
The incidents occurred at Fort Williams Park and Robinson Woods parking area near Shore Road. Other common vehicle burglary spots are Crescent Beach State Park, Two Lights State Park, Kettle Cove and the Winnick Woods parking area, said police.
“These areas are places where people are often just parking their cars and going for walks,” Fenton said. “Fort Williams tends to be a spot just because there is a high volume of people and tourists. If you sit and watch you know people get out of their car and then walk off, you know they aren’t coming back for at least 2o minutes for the most part.
“The bad guy will just wait, take a walk by your window and they only risk breaking the window if there is something they can see make it worth the risk. The last thing they want to do is break the window for an empty car. At the minimum make sure you have things out of sight.”
The police have said that these are target spots for thieves, they can swiftly break a window, steal items and flee the scene within moments. The people tend to seek out spots that have a high volume of tourist traffic because tourists typically carry cash, cameras, luggage, etc. According to a previous statement made by the Cape Elizabeth Police Department, “the suspects don’t steal your whole car, just the valuable items inside. One of the most infuriating things that can happen to a car owner is the smash-and-grab car break-in. The suspect(s) don’t even steal your whole car, just the valuable items in it – which you then have to painstakingly replace while dealing with the arduous and costly car-repair process.”
Police offer tips
Steps people can follow to make a vehicle less appealing the thieves:
Take any valuable items out of the vehicle;
Park near other people or in busy lots where there’s lots of pedestrian and vehicle traffic;
Leave the vehicle parked in a well-lit area or near a lamp post;
Always lock the doors and roll up windows when leaving a parked vehicle;
Activate a security system;
And move valuables to the trunk or out of sight.
“There’s a bunch of things people can try to do,” Fenton said. “One, is if you see something suspicious, it goes back to that saying, ‘see something say something.’ We are always a phone call away. Let us know if you see something, sometimes surveying the area before you park somewhere seeing if someone is sitting in a car often times these people will sit and actually watch so they know that the person isn’t coming back. Then they will do a walk by of the car and if they see something they will see that you just left and the likelihood that you are going to turn around and come back is very little.
“So they will just park in these areas and just wait and watch. These people will watch people put stuff in their trunk and then they will break into your car and hit the trunk latch and remove stuff from the trunk. Not bringing stuff with you at all if you know you’re going to go for a walk or keep it out of view. Locking your doors is a key too most people don’t lock their doors and just realizing that it is happening. Most people will come back if they are successful.”
Those with information about the recent vehicle burglaries are encouraged contact Detective Ben Davis at 207-767-3323, ext. 226.
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