Car Burglaries Spike in Plainfield

Since Aug. 1, there have been 36 reported car burglaries and break-ins in Plainfield — up from about a dozen in June and July.

Lock Your Doors: Vehicle Burglaries on the Rise in Plainfield

Plainfield police seeing a "sharp increase" in incidents, warn residents to take precautions.

Plainfield police are warning residents to be wary as the number of vehicle break-ins — most attributed to unlocked doors — is up in Plainfield. Calling the numbers a "sharp increase," Sgt. Kevin McQuaid said police have received 36 reports of burglaries to vehicles since Aug. 1, up from about a dozen reports in June and July. While there have been some cases of thieves shattering car windows, police said 80 percent of the crimes have been the result of unlocked doors. The vehicle burglaries have occurred throughout the village, with more than 40 percent happening in the Liberty Grove and Patriot Square subdivisions. Liberty Grove is located west of Wallin Drive between 143rd Street and Lockport Street, while Patriot Square is a half-mile …

•  23 Comments
• Photos (1)

Tim

8:31 am on Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Obviously they weren't there those months either, were they? The word you are missing is 'patrol'. It's what they are missing as well. Many times I have see 2 cars parked off the side of a road for HOURS in the same spot. The attitude seems to be that this department can still be run like it was when this was just a small town. This chief is better suited for a town of 350 people, not 35,000.   more ›

Unlocked Vehicles Making Easy Targets for Burglars Stealing Electronics

Police say 91 percent of the vehicle break-ins on record this year are cases in which the vehicle's owner didn't lock the doors.

More than 100 Plainfield residents have had their vehicles burglarized since January, Plainfield Police Chief John Konopek said Tuesday. That, however, is not the shocking part. What's harder to believe is 94 of the 103 victims may have invited the crime by leaving their vehicles unlocked, Konopek said. "I really find it surprising," he said. "What you're really doing is creating a crime of opportunity for somebody." And the number of victims may be even higher than reported. Police have recovered a large number of items from the 14 break-in arrests they've made this year that can't be linked to any police reports on file, Konopek said. In fact, the police department has so many unclaimed GPS devices and other electronic items that Konopek…

• Photos (1)