Be careful Boston, take care of your cars!

--Iron Bowl

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Police warn of uptick in car breaks

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff

Phillip Elliot locked his construction van when he parked at a work site in Allston, but that didn’t keep him from being one of more than 1,400 victims of a vehicle break-in this year in Boston.

Larcenies from vehicles surged by 19 percent citywide by Tuesday, compared with last year at the same time. Break-ins are up in eight of 12 police districts, and some areas, such as East Boston and West Roxbury, have been particularly hard hit, with incidents more than doubling.

Police issued a community alert Tuesday and said they are increasing patrols and organizing sting operations with valuables left in decoy cars. Department officials said the most common items stolen from cars are money, stereos, cellphones, iPods, and other electronic equipment.

They also urged motorists to take precautions: Don’t leave cash or valuables in the open, lock doors and windows, and install tapered door lock buttons that make it more difficult for thieves.

But even those who lock away their valuables can be victims.

Police Deputy Superintendent Daniel P. Linskey said commanders noticed the vehicle break-in trend at a recent weekly meeting where they share information and use computers to map and track crimes.

"We were seeing we were doing pretty good on the violent crime stuff, but we were noticing an increase on car breaks, [and] it was going across district boundaries," Linskey said.

He said he did not know what has been driving the surge in larcenies from vehicles, though he speculated that a crackdown on aggressive panhandlers may be a factor.

"They’ve actually made statements, 'If you’re not letting me panhandle I’ve got to do something else,’’’ he said in an interview Tuesday.

Linskey said police commanders in Roxbury have started leaving valuable goods in decoy vehicles to try to catch thieves. The tactic has been so successful, he said, that other districts will soon set up similar stings.

He said the department also is counting on a campaign to educate the public not to leave valuables in open view. A surprising number of people, he said, particularly visitors less aware of crime, learn that lesson the hard way.

Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com