Lincoln police expects increase in car break-ins

Posted By: Bayley Bischof Channel 8 Eyewitness News

The Lincoln Police Department is predicting future crime patterns, hoping for a more proactive approach to policing.

Officer Angela Sands says the Crime Analysis Unit collects and analyzes past crime data to recognize current trends.

According to their data, history says some Lincoln neighborhoods could see more car break-ins in the coming weeks.

"They believe larceny from autos may increase 40–50% over the next few weeks,” Sands said.

Sands says the areas of concern are the West A neighborhood, Pine Lake between 14th and 40th streets and the area just south of the Capitol building.

But because officers know more cars may be broken into, they can work to prevent it.

"If we see a specific hotspot in the city we might attend a neighborhood meeting, educate the people in that area,” Sands said.

One of their biggest methods of getting the word out is through social media.

Sands suggests following LPD on Facebook and Twitter for updates on crime in your area.

Just like LPD is proactive, you can be too.

"Larceny from autos is one of our most common crimes here and over 60 percent of them the vehicle was unlocked so the number one thing is to lock your vehicle,” Sands said.

Sands said you should also park in well lit areas and always remove valuables from your car.

One of the areas of concern has residents surprised.

Billie Hawkins lives in south Lincoln, her neighborhood was the victim of theft from cars last winter.

"I’m stunned when i see there’s two people walking very nonchalant going up to cars, and trying to get into them,” Hawkins said. “I was surprised to see that."

She says many of her neighbors had left their cars unlocked.

"You get lulled into this false sense of security but I think you have a responsibility to not make it easy for these people to break in,” Hawkins said.

Again, you can stay up to date with crime trends in Lincoln by following the police department on Facebook and Twitter.

And you can also do some crime tracking yourself by heading to this website and typing in your address.