LEHIGHTON, Pa. — Police in Lehighton are urging residents to lock their car doors. The warning comes after a rash of more than a dozen car break-ins over the past couple of weeks.
"That's still staggering, considering that we don't have many people living here. It's mind-blowing, and I think that's a little ridiculous that people are going around and stealing things out of cars," said Marco Eidem, a resident in the borough.
Police say cars are being broken into at night all over the borough, and it's happening to vehicles that are being left unlocked.
Kathleen Williams has lived in the borough for 55 years and has never heard of anything like this.
"It's scary. I mean, you want to be out here, like, checking all the time. I would feel like people are always out here checking now their vehicles, especially people that don't have garages and there parking in the back of homes," said Williams.
To try and prevent any more break-ins from happening in the borough, police have implemented the initiative called #9pmroutine.
"Lock your car doors, remove any valuables that are inside your car, lock your front door and any doors at your house and put a light on. All four of those factors really play a part in preventing any criminal activity," said Detective Matt Arner with the Lehighton Borough Police department.
Det. Arner says the initiative to lock up everything by 9 p.m. started with a police department in Florida and thought it would be a great fit for those here in the borough.
Since it started over a week ago, only one car has been broken into.
"I hope that people stick to schedules, and I hope that people start locking their cars," Eidem said. "I really wish that it didn't happen in the first place. I just hope that people take the advice of the police."
Police will be increasing patrols at night.
If you have information or see anything suspicious, you're asked to call 911.
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