North Shore car burglaries are on the rise — again. Highland Park topped the charts with 13 car burglaries between June 19 and June 24. Many North Shore communities have been affected by car heists, and the common thread is that most of these crimes could be prevented if people simply locked their vehicles.
“The bigger story here is how many vehicles have been stolen from Lake County suburbs and other collar counties that have ended up being recovered on the south and west sides of Chicago,” said Lake Forest Deputy Police Chief R.D. Copeland. “These include vehicles stolen out of driveways with keys left inside, and vehicles stolen from dealerships, etcetera.”
Copeland added that Lake Forest has had about 20 vehicles stolen and recovered since March of 2016. Lake Bluff, Highland Park, Deerfield, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glenview, Northbrook and other North Shore communities also have been targeted.
Copeland explained how the car burglars operate: The suspects comb the neighborhoods looking for unlocked cars with items inside to steal, as well as high-end cars with keys in the vehicle. Later, the stolen vehicles often are located on the South Side or West Side of Chicago. The most recent burglaries were of two unlocked cars with keys that were stolen in Lake Forest on June 23, he said. Copeland suspects that the same crew is responsible.
Highland Park Deputy Police Chief Timothy Wilinski echoed Copeland’s sentiments: “The offender(s) appear to target an area or neighborhood and steal items from multiple vehicles,” said Wilinski. “One distinct pattern is that items are stolen from cars that are not locked. We encourage residents to remove valuables from their cars and lock the doors.”
Lake Bluff Police Chief David Belmonte said there ha been a 50 percent increase this year in unauthorized entry to motor vehicles, and that the village’s total so far this year is 27.
He said that from June 19 through June 24, Lake Bluff had 12 cars entered illegally, and two cars stolen. All of the vehicles were unlocked, and the stolen cars had the keys inside belonging to a mini-van, which was recovered in Lake Forest, and a pick-up truck recovered in Chicago, he added.
“This is a situation that is affecting the entire Chicago area,” said Belmonte. “The groups come from the city into the suburbs to target the unlocked cars looking for cash, purses, wallets, or other items that can easily be pawned or sold. If they can find a car with keys in it, they will take that too.”
Belmonte said the Lake Bluff Police Department cannot stress enough the importance 0f locking cars, and taking the keys and valuables out. “Taking away the opportunity to commit the crime, is the single most powerful way we can stop these incidents.”
The police chiefs from the Highwood, Lake Bluff and Lake Forest Police Departments joined forces to prevent these “crime of opportunity,” and have been working together patrolling the residential areas as a deterrent.
The following information appeared in a press release issued by the police departments on June 26:
“The offenders in these crimes are looking for the unlocked cars,” said Lake Forest Police Chief Karl Walldorf. “They open the door, grab whatever is left in the car, and leave in under 20 seconds.” Walldorf added that these crimes are also occurring throughout the North Shore from Evanston to Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.
“We feel we could eliminate the vast majority of these crimes if the cars were simply locked when left unattended,” said Highwood Police Chief Dave Wentz.
According to the police chiefs, “Until we can eliminate our communities as being easy targets, they will keep coming back. And the simplest and easiest way to stop it is to keep all our cars locked – every time.”
Residents are also encouraged to call 911 if they notice any suspicious activity.
Still image from a June 2016 surveillance video of a suspect attempting to steal a car parked in a Lake Forest driveway.