FALMOUTH, Maine — A series of car burglaries along the Portland border have police asking residents to lock their cars and report suspicious activity after dark.
The break-ins, which mostly have occurred off Allen Avenue near Ledgewood Drive, all happened late at night. Incidents also have been reported in the Hamlin Road area of West Falmouth.
The thieves have been targeting unlocked cars and in at least one instance an unlocked garage. Police Lt. John Kilbride said these kind of thefts almost always are drug-related.
Kilbride said the incidents could “very well be spillover” from a recent string of car burglaries in Portland, though in Portland thieves were breaking car windows. In Falmouth, thieves only were targeting unlocked vehicles.
“There have been no broken windows, but (the culprits) are taking advantage of unlocked cars,” Kilbride said.
He said the crimes probably involve several people, and at least half a dozen burglaries have been reported.
“I think it’s various people. I think there’s quite a few individuals involved,” Kilbride said of the incidents. “I don’t think it will come back to one person.”
The police department is asking residents and visitors to remember to lock their vehicles and take valuables out of their cars. Most often the thieves are taking change, money and wallets from the cars, or “anything they can grab and get rid of fast,” according to Kilbride.
An iPad was stolen from one car, and a bicycle was stolen from an unlocked garage.
Kilbride said if residents see or hear anything suspicious, such as motion lights going on or dogs barking late at night, they should call the police.
He said the thieves likely approach cars, driveways and even garages when it’s dark and there are no lights on. He said the warm weather also invites thieves to operate comfortably into late nights and early mornings.
“What we ask for is, if you see anyone on a bike, in dark clothing early in the morning, give us a call,” Kilbride said. “Don’t wait until the morning.”