Full Notification

During the past couple of weeks, there has been an increase in thefts from vehicles/vehicle burglaries in San Luis Obispo. In most of the cases, the doors to the parked cars were left unlocked and property was stolen. In a few instances, the suspect(s) are breaking a window to victim vehicles and take items within arm’s reach of the broken window. In many of these thefts the victims reported leaving items of apparent value sitting in plain sight in the vehicles.

The Police Department would like to remind the public of the following tips to help avoid being victimized:
• Never leave your keys inside the vehicle; lock your doors and keep the windows rolled up.
• Take valuable items out of your car or make sure you keep them out of view.
• Park in well-lit areas.
• If your car is broken into, you should call the police immediately. Burglars may still be in the area and evidence may be present that can assist law enforcement in identifying the people responsible.

If you see a car burglary in progress, call police and take note of as much information as possible, such as:
• Location of the incident, including an address, cross streets or specific location inside a parking lot.
• Suspect description, such as sex, race, age, height, weight, hair color and length, color and length of facial hair, colors and style of clothing, identifying marks such as tattoos or piercings, etc.
• Direction of travel if the suspect flees the area. If they are associated with a vehicle, try to obtain a description of the suspect vehicle, such as color, make, model and license plate.
• Description of the victim’s vehicle, such as color, make, model and license plate.

It is important to come together as a community to reduce these types of crimes. Please stay alert, secure your personal property and call the Police Department when something appears suspicious.