Community Corner

Car Burglaries Remain High in Tough Economy

Police charged a New Britain teenager Wednesday in October thefts from two vehicles and police said the case serves as a warning that cars should be locked overnight.


The best defense against being burglarized in a tough economy is to lock up your stuff, especially your cars.

Southington police said Wednesday that car burglaries remain one of the most reported criminal cases in town and a recent arrest shows the importance of locking your car in order to prevent becoming the next victim of a passing burglar looking for a quick strike.

Officers took David R. Lugli, of 316 Allen St. in New Britain, into custody Wednesday morning after he turned himself into police on an arrest warrant. Lugli, 18, was charged with third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny during an arraignment hearing in Bristol Superior Court Wednesday.

Court staff said he was initially held in lieu of a $25,000 bond but was released on a promise to appear following arraignment Wednesday. He is due back in court on Jan. 12, 2011.

A police report said Lugli had entered at least two unlocked vehicles during the overnight hours between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 and took money and other items left in the cars. He was able to get $75 from a wallet left in one of the cars, police said.

The case in one of several leading to arrests over the past couple months, police said Wednesday. No specific neighborhoods have been targeted.

Sgt. Lowell DePalma said in a down economy, this has been the most common type of theft in town. In the vast majority of cases, he said burglars see it as a “crime of opportunity” and are not damaging the cars in order to take items.

“What we are seeing is people ‘testing’ the doors to see if they are unlocked and going in to see what they can find,” DePalma said. “They are not breaking windows and in many cases, they are simply checking the doors as they walk by, especially late at night.”

The has reported an increase in the number of these types of cases during recent weeks, but DePalma said it’s not unusual to see occasional increases and the number of incidents remains consistent year to year.

The best way to avoid being targeted is to lock your vehicles and make sure you aren’t leaving items of importance in open view. In many cases, this will be enough to deter burglars from taking your things. The most commonly stolen items include GPS systems, cell phones, money and other valuables left in the unlocked cars.

In rare cases where items were stolen from a locked car, the burglars are smashing the windows because valuable items are left in plain view. DePalma said when there is nothing visible and a car is locked, most burglars won’t take a chance at drawing attention to themselves with the sound of broken glass late at night.

“It seems like common sense, but locking your car is a simple step that many people forget to take. We aren’t seeing many cases with windows being left down this time of year, but it’s still important to remove your things and lock your door,” DePalma said.


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