South Burlington sees record number of stolen vehicles

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - South Burlington Police are urging residents to lock their vehicles after a rash of stolen cars and items stolen from inside vehicles.

This year, South Burlington has seen record numbers of stolen vehicles. To date, there have been more than 118 vehicles stolen and 126 instances of stealing things from inside vehicles.

Police say people are out every night checking vehicles to see whether cars are unlocked and have items inside such as purses and even guns.

Investigators say the best way to avoid becoming a victim is to lock your vehicle and not leave keys or valuables inside it.

“Typically a stolen car for us is going to take up to a week to locate, investigate, search the vehicle and then any other secondary crimes associated with it. So, we are spending a ton of time on stolen vehicles and items stolen from cars,” South Burlington Police Det. Kevin Grealis said.

Police say sometimes they recover the stolen vehicles, and when they do, they typically find drug paraphernalia and stolen goods inside.

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