The Heights at Groveton will open next month. From CrimeReports.com
Lock your doors. That’s the message from the Alexandria Police Department, which is currently engaged in an effort to address a growing trend of thefts from vehicles in the Rosemont neighborhood. Sgt. Michael Kochis says the vast majority of victims do not bother locking their car doors, giving criminals easy access to GPS devices, portable electronics and even loose change.
“Citizens should really lock their doors,” said Sgt. Michael Kochis, who works in the detective bureau, “They are targeting unlocked cars.”
Kochis says police have logged about a dozen or so incidents in the last two months, including nine in the last month. Two full-time detectives have been assigned to the case, and they are currently trying to determine if the incidents are related or a series of unrelated crimes of opportunity. Summaries of incident reports released by the Alexandria Police Department show a variety of items stolen, including iPods, digital cameras, GPS units — even a parking sticker was stolen from one unlocked car parked on West Rosemont Avenue on July 10.
“We’re still gathering all the evidence and putting the case together,” said Kochis. “Both detectives are out there every single day beating the pavement and running down leads.”
SUMMERTIME USUALLY brings more crime, although recent crime trends in Rosemont are higher than normal. When police officials appear before the Rosemont Citizens Association, they always make a point of reminding residents to lock their doors, although sometimes efforts fall on deaf ears.
“We always get the lecture from the police about locking our doors,” said longtime Rosemont resident Katie Cannady. “Most of the times I lock my car but sometimes I don’t. “Good luck to anyone who wants to go through all the junk in my car.”
Longtime Rosemont residents say crime has been a concern for many years, with criminals becoming increasingly brazen. Longtime neighborhood resident Anne Shine said her house has been burglarized and a car was stolen right out of her garage. More recently, the back window of her car was bashed in during an unsuccessful burglary attempt.
“I’m not sure how much good it does to lock the doors because they just try to get into the locked car anyway,” said Shine. “This stuff seems to happen in waves, and I’m not sure if it’s the weather or the economy. I tend to think it’s the latter.”