A string of car break-ins in parts of Jefferson County has created an uneasiness among some residents. Law enforcement and city officials of both Mingo Junction and Steubenville are now hoping to ease the minds of some, with a message and an update on the investigations.

Police in Mingo Junction and Steubenville have had to respond to an increasing number of car break-in calls over the past couple weeks.

In Steubenville, most of the activity is taking place in the city's west end area.

"We've confirmed at this time we had at least 22 vehicles entered," City Manager Jim Mavromatis said. "The one good thing is they didn't break any windows to get in. The cars were unlocked and that's the key point here."

Furthermore, he stresses none of this were 'smash and grab' type incidents.

"None of the vehicles were forcibly entered, they were unlocked," Mavromatis said. "They entered the vehicle, took whatever they found in the glovebox or in the consoles."

And during a 24-hour span last Thursday into Friday, Mingo Junction police were made aware of three car burglaries.

The break-ins took place along Brian Street, Benita Drive and Paulman Circle.

"Three vehicles that we know of so far were targeted in the Sunrise Terrace area," Mingo Junction Police Chief Willie McKenzie said. "We just encourage citizens to make sure you have your doors locked, also we encourage citizens to install cameras on their residences and that way they can help us find who's doing this."

McKenzie says three breaks-ins over 24 hours is rare. He added that no arrests have been made yet.

Mavromatis says the crimes they're investigating have been carried out by juveniles and arrests have been made.

"Our detectives have worked diligently and as I said, we've arrested 3 people, charged them and we're looking at a fourth one," Mavromatis said. "The key thing is the majority of these were all on the weekend, anywhere from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. The other thing, I would caution parents: know where your kids are at that's a key point right there."

He adds this final message for residents:

"To all the residences owner's here, if you have multiple vehicles parked outside, lock them," Mavromatis said. "Don't keep your valuables in plain view and like I said, none of the vehicles have been broken into, so they'll move onto somebody else who has a car that's not locked."