Police see rash of auto thefts
Toolbox
By Thatcher Moats Times Argus Staff - Published: January 7, 2010
BARRE – State and local police in Washington County have witnessed a spike in the number of motor vehicles stolen in the last two months, along with a rash of cases where items were stolen from inside motor vehicles.
Six vehicles have been stolen from Montpelier since Nov. 1, police there said, which is much higher than normal.
"Some years we don't have six stolen vehicles" all year, said Montpelier Sgt. Neil Martel.
Lt. Paul White, who is the commander of the Vermont State Police barracks in Middlesex, has seen the same trend.
"The big thing we've really seen a lot of are thefts of cars and thefts from cars," said White. "In the month of December we've had more stolen cars than all the previous year combined."
Barre Town and Barre City have both experienced a high number of cases where items are stolen out of motor vehicles but haven't seen a spike in stolen cars, the chiefs there said.
The stolen cars generally have been recovered after sustaining various amounts of damage.
"Most of the vehicles were recovered in nearby towns," Martel said. "Some in Barre, some in Calais, one was found in Williston. Some have been involved in accidents, some have been simply parked and left."
White said the damage he has seen has ranged from a car that was totaled to one that was perfectly fine.
It appears the cars are being stolen for the recreation, he added.
"It seems like it's more of just a nuisance thing, the typical joyride," he said. "They're not doing it for the value of the car."
Police in Montpelier said it appears the thefts of cars and the thefts from cars go hand-in-hand: as people are going through unlocked cars looking for items to steal, they sometimes find keys and then steal the vehicle as well.
Some of the cases of stolen cars and the larcenies are likely being committed by the same people, but they are not all being committed by one group, said White.
There was a string of motor vehicle thefts in December where you could "basically connect the dots" and track the thief or thieves, White said. A car was stolen in one town, found in another and then another car was stolen from the same town the first one was found in, and so on, he said.
In terms of the thefts of items from vehicles, Montpelier has had 60 reports since early November. Barre Town had 20 reports on Saturday. Barre City has had a steady dose of them lately, including at least four cases reported Tuesday.
"We've been getting pockets of them since December," said Barre Town Police Chief Michael Stevens.
In Montpelier, the thefts from vehicles mostly have been from vehicles that are parked on streets or in the owner's yard. But on Tuesday night, police began to see a new pattern.
"The little more disturbing thing is that last night they started entering…garages that were not locked and going into the cars inside," Martel said on Wednesday.
There have been some arrests in these types of crimes, but those arrests certainly don't come close to accounting for all the cases. State police caught three juveniles last month for allegedly stealing three cars and other property.
Barre City police caught juveniles going through cars recently.
The vehicle break-ins are a blow to people's quality of life, White said, and a challenge to combat.
"It's so widespread, it's difficult to do much about it," he said.
The best thing people can do is take precautions, such as locking their vehicles, police agree. Almost all the vehicles in these cases have been unlocked.
"The key thing we're trying to get out is for people to lock their cars and remove their valuables and don't leave a spare key in the car," said Martel.
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