IPSD reminds residents to protect against vehicle break-ins

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood — Following several car break-ins earlier this week, the Ironwood Public Safety Department is reminding residents about steps they can take to reduce the chance they are targeted.

He made clear the problem isn’t isolated to a specific area, or even to the city of Ironwood.

“It was primarily over one night recently, but there’s been other nights in the past … where people have reported their vehicles have been entered,” said IPSD Sgt. Matt Sterbenz. “Not only in our area, but Hurley has had some reports of suspicious activities where they’ve had car alarms reported that were going off.”

Sterbenz said people should lock their cars and keep their windows up at night, keep track of their keys and park in a well-lit area if possible.

He also advised that people avoid leaving valuables in vehicles. If something has to be left in the car, Sterbenz said it’s best to make sure it’s not visible.

“Make sure you’re hiding it; so it’s out of sight, out of mind,” he said.

Though people often leave their vehicles running in hot weather so the air conditioning stays on, Sterbenz said to either avoid leaving their keys in the car or using a second key to lock the doors while the car is on.

People can also invest in anti-theft systems.

“They’re not that expensive nowadays,” Sterbenz said.

Some people have home surveillance systems, with at least one of the residents in the recent break-ins catching the theft on video.

“One of the people who had their vehicle entered and some items taken did have a home surveillance system, and there was what appeared to be two teenage males entering the vehicles,” Sterbenz said.

If anyone thinks their vehicle was broken into, Sterbenz said they should contact the authorities, monitor their bank and credit cards in case the thieves obtained access, and try and preserve any evidence of the crime.

“Try not to touch everything in the vehicle,” Sterbenz said. “Be aware, if there are footprints in the dirt or mud outside the vehicle or in the area, not to step on top of them so we have the opportunity to try and photograph them and preserve the evidence.”

Even those who may haven’t had anything or only minor items should still report the incidents, according to Sterbenz.

“Not only No. 1, does it show a potential pattern in an area … but then, even if they didn’t take something, there’s the potential there’s a footprint in the mud outside the vehicle (or other evidence),” he explained.

With more people out and about during the summer months, Sterbenz said there’s often an increase in other property crimes beside just car break-ins.

He said people should remember to lock their garages and out buildings, and avoid leaving items like bikes outside unattended.

“We see a lot of bikes that are taken, and then damaged and then just ditched,” Sterbenz said. “It’s not always that easy to recover bikes because they start painting them, throwing them in the woods and areas that aren’t highly traveled.”

Even though there are steps people can take to reduce the likelihood of being a victim of a property crime, Sterbenz said reporting suspicious activity can help law enforcement prevent future crimes.

“Reporting suspicious activity is the key (to) giving your local law enforcement the opportunity to catch them,” Sterbenz said. “If we don’t know about (an incident) … it decreases our chances of being able to catch people and put an end to the break-ins.”