Car break-ins on the rise in Pittsburg

Thieves have been breaking into homes and vehicles around the community in Pittsburg. These robbers have been called “car hoppers,” as they jump from car to car checking if there are valuables in cars and if it is unlocked. 

Lieutenant with Pittsburg Police Department Ben Henderson is the officer primarily in charge of the cases dealing with car break-ins 

“What we recommend people do is make sure they lock their cars, do not leave any valuables, and park in well–lit areas as much as possible,” Henderson said. “If you have a car alarm, make sure that it’s active, basically take your stuff with you and lock your door.” 

Zack Sorrells, junior in accounting, said he has seen this problem firsthand in his neighborhood. 

“My house was robbed last December,” Sorrells said. “The robbers took three TVs, a Playstation, headphones, and a safe. In total, they probably took around $2,000 of valuables.” 

Sorrells said he would like to see a “big change” in the Pittsburg community in order to prevent these situations from happening again. 

“I would like to see the police patrol the neighborhoods more, as a few other houses were robbed on my street as well,” Sorrells said. “I would have also liked to have seen the police pursue the suspects better than they did. I hope that if this situation happens to anyone else the police will be more adamant on their search.” 

Henderson and Pittsburg PD want to make sure people are being adamant and proactive about locking their doors. 

“We are (going to) try and get out there more in those target areas and try and increase staff on key high point days and nights and peak hours we anticipate there will be a problem,” Henderson said. “Mainly like I said before, just take your stuff in and lock your car doors. There (are) a lot of areas that are bad, the thing is that once we start heavily patrolling an area they move to a different area...” 

Mya Houdyshell, junior in elementary education, said she has been worried about problems that have been happening in her neighborhood. 

“I recently got a Ring doorbell because I have felt unsafe because of all the break ins in my neighborhood,” Houdyshell said. “A Ring is a doorbell that also serves as a camera. The doorbell is also voice activated so I can talk to people through the doorbell without having to go outside if I don’t feel safe. Now that I have a Ring, I feel better but would still like to see the police department be adamant and on the lookout.” 

Jami Gooch, Houdyshell’s neighbor and junior in computer information systems, just moved into the neighborhood and said they’re is worried about the area. 

“The neighborhood I live in is disappointing because of all the breakins happening around me, however it is not surprising because of the norms created throughout our society,” said Gooch.