< Back to front page Text size – +

Boston police warn of spike in thefts from cars

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 10, 2009 03:06 PM

(Handout)

A Garmin Nuvi. If you've got one of these, better keep it out of sight.

By Globe Staff

Don't leave valuables in plain sight when you step out of your car. That's the word from Boston police, who say there's been a 6 percent rise in motor vehicle break-ins in the city in the first six months of the year.

The hardest-hit area was District D4, which includes parts of the Back Bay, South End, Lower Roxbury and Fenway areas. It experienced a 52 percent surge, with the number of thefts rising to 765 from 503 during the same period last year.

The most common items stolen included GPS devices, laptop computers, cash, stereos and stereo face plates, other electronic devices (such as cellphones, iPods, Blackberrys and chargers), bags, purses, and briefcases, police said.

Overall, the number of thefts from cars rose from 2,874 to 3,037. District A1, the downtown area, saw the second-highest surge in thefts, with a 38 percent increase, rising to 376 from 273. Districts A7 (East Boston), B2 (Roxbury), C11 (Dorchester) saw smaller increases.

Seven districts were lucky, with A15 (Charlestown), B3 (Mattapan), C6 (South Boston), D14 (Allston-Brighton), E13 (Jamaica Plain), E18 (Hyde Park), and E5 (West Roxbury) all registering declines.

Police said they are stepping up patrols in certain areas and organizing sting operations using decoy vehicles.

Police also advised people to lock their car doors and windows, to replace standard lock buttons with tapered ones that make it harder to hook a wire onto the button to pop it open, to invest in an anti-theft device, and to report suspicious activity to police.