Lock your cars: Uptick in reports of break-ins on neighborhood social media forums

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – With numerous reports of auto break-ins and auto theft in Savannah and surrounding counties, vigilance on the part of you and your neighbors could save you from becoming the next victim.

“I left the door unlocked, and somebody came in, opened the glove compartment, dumped it out. They didn’t find anything because I didn’t have anything. Then they just left, and it happened overnight,” Pat Mooney, a Savannah resident, said.

Reports and posts on social media paint a picture of a disturbing trend: thieves who wait until the early hours of the morning to strike. They go from car to car, checking to see if doors are open.

Many times, they’re not even breaking windows.

Instead, they’re just checking handles, hoping to get lucky. Sometimes, they do.

“A guy across the street – he had a gun in his glove compartment, and it got taken. I found the holster the next morning, but the gun was gone. You know, it worries me a little bit,” Mooney said.

Social media users from all around our area are posting about similar issues in Facebook groups and Nextdoor forums.

Chatham County police say they’ve had 114 instances of reported “theft from auto” so far this year, which is 10 more than this time last year.

The Savannah Police Department says they’ve had reports of more than 400 cars entered since the start of the year.

According to the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, there has been a 25% increase in cases of “entering auto” from 2022-2023 in their region, going up from 28 to 35 cases.

However, police, and even some victims, say that most of these cases of break-in or theft happen because cars are unlocked.

“You know, we’re all relatively careful. The guy who left his truck open and had the gun stolen.I don’t think he did that deliberately. I think he just forgot to lock the truck. Unfortunately, he had a gun in his glove compartment,” Monney told News 3.

The city of Savannah recently instituted an ordinance penalizing people who leave firearms in unlocked cars.