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SALT LAKE CITY — Police say summertime crime like burglaries and car break-ins are up near Liberty Park neighborhoods, and it's the homeowners police are trying to warn.
Police were on the prowl Wednesday as the went door to door near Liberty Park. In the last two months, there have been a rash of burglaries in the area.
Det. Andy Leonard approached one home in the area because the garage door was open, which leaves homeowners a tempting targets for thieves.
"A lot of the burglaries that we've been having have been happening with open garage doors, and I noticed that your garage door was open," Leonard told the woman who answered the door.
The homeowner, who asked not to be named, said her garage door was open because her husband had just gotten home. However, she said she knows it doesn't take much to be a victim. Last weekend, she parked her car on the street and someone broke into it.
"Friday night (was) the only night it's been out because the driveway was refinished and we didn't want anyone turning around on the driveway and damaging it, so we left it out," the homeowner said.
- Park the car in the garage and shut the door
- Don't leave valuables in the car, especially in plain sight
- Make sure windows are shut tight and doors are locked
- Invest in an alarm system if you don't already have one
- Park in well-lit areas
Someone recently broke into Julie Shipman's car, too. She lives in a neighborhood nearby.
"I had all my camera gear (in there)," she said. "My car window was smashed in. I'm a photographer and I had all my camera gear taken."
Police advised against storing valuables in cars and said she shouldn't have left the camera gear there. They also told her husband he shouldn't have left his iPad in his car. It was stolen as well.
"It's the right thing to do and they should do it," Shipman said of the police's warnings. "I'm not offended at all."
Police say most burglaries are crimes of opportunity. They urged homeowners to keep valuables out of plain site and garage doors should be closed.
They also told homeowners to look out for each other and report anything suspicious, especially as thieves get more clever and creative.
"We've had various calls from everything from people on bicycles, people acting as if they worked for another company and doing utility work, and even going as far as pushing shopping carts or pushing baby carts," said Det. Rick Wall with the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Police were able to talk to about 50 homeowners Wednesday, and while they were out they made two arrests: one man was arrested on a felony warrant and the other was driving when he shouldn't have been because of a prior DUI.
Officers will be continuing the operation in other neighborhoods Thursday and Friday.
