Sandy Springs police say car thefts and car break-ins are on the rise.
Sgt. Sal Ortega, police information officer for the department, said those crimes have been a problem in Sandy Springs for years but there’s been an increase in the last month.
During January, 20 vehicles were stolen compared to 10 during the same 31-day period in 2020, according to police.
Ortega said there were 76 vehicle break-ins in January compared to 69 during the month in 2020. He urges drivers to be more diligent in removing items from obvious sight in their parked vehicles. Credit cards, guns and other items found in a stolen Porsche SUV Tuesday morning were taken from several vehicles, Ortega said, including some the owners were unaware had been broken into.
“We constantly try to remind people, ‘Don’t leave valuables in your car,’” he said. “You would be surprised how many weapons people leave in cars.”
The stolen guns are often used in other crimes, Ortega said.
Five men were arrested Tuesday after crashing a stolen 2012 Porsche Cayenne into a Sandy Springs Police patrol car near the intersection of Brandon Mill and Dalrymple roads. Two of the men charged had outstanding warrants related to illegally entering autos.
Police say car thieves have started going into parking decks and sometimes stay for hours. In January, 20 cars were broken into on the Northside Hospital Campus, Ortega said.
Last week, Ortega posted video on the Sandy Springs Facebook page of a separate incident. The video shows a man walking through the City Springs residential parking deck pulling car handles on locked cars after he’s taken items from an unlocked SUV.
“They’re going into decks and take their time walking around,” he said.
