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Officers with the Cordele Police Department had an unusually busy January investigating a string of vehicle break-ins throughout the city.

According to Cordele Police Department Lt. Andrew Roufs, officers responded to 25 reports of entering autos in the city during the month of January. He said that figure is abnormally high – in February of 2018 there were only six entering auto cases.

“It ebbs and flows,” Roufs said. “There are times of the year when we’ll have a string of entering auto cases and we’ll make a few arrests and then things will quiet down.

“They are keeping us busy right now,” he said.

Roufs said CPD is looking at several scenarios at play in the rash of vehicle break-ins. In some cases, juveniles may be randomly entering autos. In others, however, criminals plan where and when they will strike, and then decide which vehicles to hit once they get there.

That’s where people can act to minimize the chance that they will be the next victim. Roufs said thieves are always looking to take advantage of property that is ‘ripe for the taking.’

“Always keep your doors locked,” Roufs stressed. “Take your valuables with you or, if you can’t secure them somewhere else, tuck them away so they aren’t visible to someone walking by your vehicle.”