COLORADO SPRINGS — The Colorado Springs Police Department is reporting car break-ins are trending upwards, both in the city and across Colorado.
"It's not just apartment communities or places like that. We see that in neighborhoods. Right now, as we know, Colorado is one of the top motor vehicle theft locations in the country," said Crime Prevention Officer M.J. Thompson.
Karri Mills lives at the Polaris Junction Apartment Homes off North Gate Blvd, on the North side of town. She says she's become concerned since an overnight string of car break-ins in the complex.
"It's just scary to wake up today and know that people were rummaging through your neighbor's things," she said. "It's just 'a thing' now in the Springs. And that hurts".
Police say early in the morning on January 12, a string of vehicles were broken into. When she woke up in the morning, Mills says she counted at least 20 cars with broken windows and items missing.
"People lost laptops, and wallets, and things that we probably shouldn't have in our cars. But we're human," said Mills.
The crime prevention unit is warning people to lock their car doors and take all valuables out of the vehicle before they leave.
"We tell people don't leave anything. One example is a gym bag, right? You might know that's an old gym bag with stinky shoes, but the criminal doesn't know that. They see a Nike bag and think 'Hey there might be a wallet, there might be a laptop'. They don't know what's in there," said Thompson.
While Mills is grateful her car is safe, she's concerned about the future. She says especially at a time when the upcoming
Sunset Amphitheater is set to open next to the apartments in August.
"It's super concerning that we're so close to the highway, and now with the amphitheater, what does that look like?," she said.
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