Borough Police Report More Unsecured Vehicle Break-ins

In a two-week span, Collingswood has been hit by eight burglaries to unsecured cars, vans and trucks.

Police continue to ask residents to pay attention to locking their vehicles before retiring for the evening: all eight burglaries reportedly occurred at night.

“You need to be vigilant. Lock your car doors,” said Cpl. Tom Hartshaw of the Collingswood Police Department.

For starters, during the overnight hours of Sept. 23, four unsecured vehicles in the 200 block of Madison Avenue were burglarized. A 2006 Ford F150, Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Equinox, and a Jeep Liberty were all targeted in the thefts, with miscellaneous GPS units, a pair of Nikon binoculars, $180 in cash, a carton of cigarettes and assorted change stolen.

The next day, Sept. 24, an unknown person broke into an unsecured vehicle parked in a driveway in the 600 block of Bettlewood Ave. during the overnight hours. The thief made off with a bottle of prescription migraine medicine.

On Sept. 30, officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Haddon Ave. to meet with the victim of an apparent vehicle burglary who reported that he’d left his work vehicle unsecured and on the street. Among the missing items were a DeWalt hammer drill, sander, buffer, battery charger, buffer, cleaning tool, portable heat gun, 75-piece socket set and other miscellaneous tools.

Finally, sometime in the overnight hours of Oct. 4 and 5, a 2006 Buick and 2001 Honda Accord were burglarized in the unit block of Wayne Terrace. Nothing was reported missing from the Buick; $3 in coins were removed from the Honda.

In every instance, detectives processed the scene for evidence and the investigation is still ongoing. Police have no leads in any of these crimes.

Hartshaw encouraged neighbors to keep an eye out for anyone who looks like he or she might not belong on the their blocks.

“We also ask that you keep your neighbors in mind," he said. "If you see something on your street or a person who doesn’t belong, kindly make us aware of the situation.

"Policing is a team effort and we need your help,” Hartshaw said.