The West Orange Police Department is asking the public to be extra mindful in protecting their homes and securing cars. The city has seen an increase in vehicle thefts and home burglaries, a problem that is on the rise throughout New Jersey.

Within the last six months in West Orange, there’s been at least 10 of these types of incidents. Police say some of the burglaries into resident’s homes is in an effort to steal key fobs for cars in the driveways of those homes.

A home on Eagle Rock Avenue was broken into on May 29 through an unlocked and partially opened window. Once they got inside, police say they found a key fob to the homeowner’s 2019 Audi Q8 and then proceeded to steal the car.

Just a few days prior to that on May 25, another home was broken into. Police say people entered through a back door along Fairmount Terrace, where, once again, they located a key fob to a BMW530 and then stole the car.

Police say it’s presumed that the sole purpose of entering these homes is to locate the key fobs. They say, “entry was gained through one garage door opener located in an unlocked vehicle, three unlocked front or rear doors, four unlocked windows, and one forced entry through rear door of the home.”

Police are reminding residents to make sure all entryways and windows are locked. Most of these incidents are happening overnight and forced entry is not being used to get inside.

Police say West Orange is not the only town experiencing these issues. Surrounding towns like Livingston reported six home burglaries and attempted home burglaries in the past week. Police say if you see something, say something.