The Newtown Police, among this week’s police reports, issued a warning to residents concerning increasing car break-ins over the past month. A perennial problem, car break-ins are a crime of opportunity that offers thieves low-risk ways to steal items left in vehicles, and can include money, electronics, credit cards, or anything else of value that a car owner might think to leave in their vehicle either by forgetting it or for convenience.

However, especially if the vehicle is left unlocked, anything of value in a car can be easily taken by a passerby in just moments. Owners of Ring cameras can see many, many videos of pedestrians wandering onto properties and trying car doors to see if they are unlocked. If the vehicle is locked, they move on. If an unlocked vehicle is found, they perform a quick search for valuables and are gone, without exposing their faces or identities to the cameras.

Worse, if the ignition key is left in the vehicle, the thieves could decide to take the vehicle itself, often either for a joyride before ditching it, or possibly stripping it of valuable parts.

So The Newtown Bee is joining Newtown Police Department in asking all residents to not leave any items of value in their vehicles, and to always lock their car doors. Any convenience that could be had leaving items in a car is gone if those items are stolen.

Another crime of opportunity on the rise, especially over the holidays, is the practice of “porch pirating.” In this case, instead of searching a vehicle, the thief grabs any packages left on the front doorstep of a home. With more packages being delivered over the holidays than normal, more individuals are engaging in this type of behavior.

Some intrepid individuals are driving their cars across neighborhoods, stopping when they see a package, running to grab it, and driving on.

We recommend that homeowners keep a close eye on the shipping tracking of their items and try to minimize time a package is left in front of a home. Or even better, having packages delivered to a Post Office Box can prevent exposure to this type of crime entirely.