Several vehicle break ins reported this week

The Baxter County Sheriff’s Department has received an unusual amount of thefts from vehicles reported during the week. A total of six thefts occurred in two different areas, one area near Buffalo City and the other in the town of Norfork. In all of the reports the thefts took place when the vehicle was unlocked.Items stolen include a camera, compact discs, cases of bottled water, tackle boxes and artificial baits, loose change, paperwork and a checkbook.

Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says while the Twin Lakes Area is one of the safest places to live, he encourages everyone to remember a saying he’s coined: “don’t volunteer to be a victim”.
He says the times when individuals could freely leave their vehicles unlocked are over. The area still has one of the lowest crime rates for personal crimes, rape, robbery and murder, but we are experiencing what every other community in Arkansas is experiencing- an increase in property crime.
Most thieves are looking for the quick, easy score. Of the last hundred or so reports of vehicle break-ins, 99 percent were left unlocked. As evidence from the items stolen on the recent reports, thieves will take nearly anything of value and an unlocked car makes it easier for them.

According to Montgomery, most cars were parked in their driveways and it didn’t matter whether the victim lived in town or out in the rural community. Others were at church, the victim’s place of employment or the doctor’s office. The same holds true for boats. A majority of boat thefts are because the owners leave valuables in plain sight instead taking them with them or locking them away.

Montgomerey says area residents, and those visiting, can make a difference by not “volunteering to be a victim” and by locking their car.

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