Police warn of spike in vehicle thefts

Posted on April 29, 2015

Bloomington-Normal police report at least 35 stolen cars in 2015. (Photo courtesy Bloomington Police Department)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Local police are reminding drivers to lock their doors as car thefts have become a crime of opportunity in the Twin Cities.

Bloomington Police spokeswoman Sara Mayer said there have been at least 35 stolen vehicles reported in Bloomington-Normal this year, including seven in the last 10 days.

“The majority of the vehicles are unlocked with the keys left inside,” Mayer said. “That’s one thing we want to tell the public, keep you vehicle locked, remove valuables, don’t make your vehicle an easy target and put keys in a safe spot.”

Police report the arrests of six juveniles for car thefts in Bloomington-Normal this year, but Mayer said that hadn’t stopped the problem.

“We aren’t looking at something where they are taking (the vehicles) and they are going out of state, or going to some type of chop shop,” Mayer said. “We are actually recovering a majority of the vehicles locally. These are crimes of opportunity where they are going through the vehicle as a burglary, they find the keys and it turns into a stolen vehicle.”

Police from Bloomington-Normal, ISU and McLean County will take part in ‘Coffee with a Cop’ from 7 to 10 a.m. Thursday at Coffee Hound in Normal.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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