Police Captain: 'Lock Your Car Doors'

There has been a reported increase in the number of criminal acts that could've been prevented by locking a car door or securing a shed.

Patch crime logs between Lutherville-Timonium, Cockeysville and Hunt Valley have been rife with entries indicating a spike in "thefts of opportunity," as police Capt. David P. Moxley put it.

Police are now requesting the public's help by identifying "suspicious subjects" and securing their personal belongings, including (and especially) firearms.

The following letter was sent to community leaders by Capt. David P. Moxley:

Many communities within the Cockeysville precinct, more specifically the East Timonium/Ivy Church Community and Merrymans Mill Community, have experienced an increase in thefts from vehicles.

These thefts are from vehicles left unlocked. These are simply thefts of opportunity. Associated with these thefts are several burglaries of garages. These thieves are using garage door openers located within the unlocked vehicles to gain access into your garage, and then stealing items within the garage. In addition, we have found that many homeowners are leaving their garage doors open for the thieves to walk in.

We need your help in both eliminating this crime of opportunity and identifying the suspects responsible.

Please remember to lock your vehicles and secure your garage doors. It is a shame that we have to take these steps in our community, but we do. These thefts are occurring predominately during the weekends.

If you see suspicious subjects in your community, please call 911 so that a police officer can be dispatched to the area. We are taking investigative and enforcement measures to combat this current trend.

As most of you probably know, within the last week, two Baltimore County children brought firearms into our schools. As gun owners, it is our responsibility, not only legally, but also morally, to secure our weapons. As a father, I could not imagine living with the guilt of knowing that an unsecured firearm that belonged to me was used to harm another human being. Again, please take the time to invest in the proper locking mechanism to avoid this potential nightmare.

Again, thanks for all your support.

Captain David P. Moxley
Commander
Precinct 7, Cockeysville

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