GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids' northeast side has seen an increase in attempted break-ins in more than a dozen homes over the weekend. Two of these homes, suspects were able to get into.
Captain Michael Maycroft of the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) explained ways community members can prevent future breaks in their neighborhood.
"It's really a crime of opportunity… people that didn't lock their doors."
A spike in recent home break-ins has led to a call to action in the city. Police received numerous calls of home invasions and attempts between midnight and 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Maycroft says it's important for people to lock their doors to stay safe.
"We want our people to know is the best thing they can do is lock all their doors. If they have lights that they can turn on in the back and in their front porch, that's going to help as well," Maycroft said. "And then just be a good neighbor, be on the lookout for anything and then report anything that you see."
Police have also seen an increase of items stolen from cars, especially when thieves can see what appears to be something valuable.
"People don't sometimes lock their cars because they don't want people to break the window to get into their vehicle. But when we started doing the statistics on that, almost 95% of our larceny for motor vehicles or vehicles that are left unlocked."
The break-ins over the weekend happened on the northeast side of Grand Rapids in the Leonard and Perkins area of the Beckwith Hills neighborhood. Police have emphasized the importance of keeping an eye on your neighbors' homes.
"So we need the cooperation of the neighbors. And then we are also going to add our patrols and see if we can prevent this from happening again, or catch who's actually doing this."
Turning on porch lights to potentially catch suspicious behavior on camera is strongly advised. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
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