Amid numerous auto burglary incidents in Starkville in recent weeks, the Starkville Police Department is addressing the issue by asking community members to secure their vehicles and report incidents of auto theft to SPD.
Over the last 30 days, SPD public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady said SPD has received over 30 reports Lovelady of auto burglary and has arrested two suspects. As previously reported by the Starkville Daily News, SPD arrested Naikerious Doss on two counts of attempted auto burglary Dec. 8 and Marquez Williams on three counts of auto burglary on Nov. 29.
“The facts are not enough people secure their vehicles or their belongings at night so auto burglaries continue,” Lovelady said.
In a video SPD posted to social media on Nov. 30, SPD Cpl. Prinston Henderson said in most cases of auto burglary, the vehicles of the victims were left unsecured.
“We need to have a serious talk about securing our vehicles at nighttime,” Henderson said. “Suspects go door-to-door doing door checks. Once the suspect finds an open vehicle, the suspect enters the vehicle and takes anything of value.”
The first steps in preventing these kinds of crimes are locking car doors and closing windows.
“Make sure your doors and windows are secure,” Lovelady said.
During past thefts, Lovelady said firearms, electronics, cash and change are some of the items that are most often taken from vehicles. Lovelady recommends securing any valuable items by removing them from the vehicle.
“Secure your valuables,” Lovelady said. “Take them in with you.”
If people choose to leave valuables in their cars, Lovelady recommends keeping them hidden.
“Don’t leave anything in plain view,” Lovelady said. “(Also,) don’t try to cover something where it’s obvious something’s covered that may draw attention to a passerby.”
If someone is a victim of auto burglary, Lovelady encourages the victim to report the crime.
“There have been times in the past where we’re aware that individuals aren’t filing reports,” Lovelady said. “We encourage that you file reports. That helps us track incidents in the community and it helps us better utilize the police department’s crime prevention resources.”
For example, SPD can implement surveil- lance equipment or increase patrol where numerous incidents occur.
“If we know where things are happening, we can put police equipment or people over there more often. That’s why we want to stress the importance of reporting auto burglary,” Lovelady said.
Lovelady also reminds the community SpD doesn’t have access to private Facebook groups or Nextdoor posts unless they’re shared.
“Some individuals utilize social media services like Nextdoor or Facebook. Just because they’re getting posted on there doesn’t mean we’re seeing it,” Lovelady said.
Lovelady said the arrests of Doss and Williams were both the result of reports to SPD. “In the last month, there have been two incidents of citizens reporting active auto burglaries that have led to arrests. We thank them for their vigilance,” Lovelady said. “We’re a team. Together we can reduce crime,” Lovelady concluded. “The main things are: lock your doors and report incidents so we can better track them. See something, say something.”