Newport police report drop in vehicle break-ins

Newport Beach police are reporting a significant drop in vehicle break-ins compared to last year.

So far this year, 481 thefts or burglaries from automobiles have been reported. That is a 28.42% decrease from last year when 672 were reported at this time.

Newport Beach Police had 25 vehicle burglaries or thefts reported through Monday in the month of November. During the same month last year 78 similar crimes were reported.

The numbers for October were still lower at 32, in comparison to 65 last year. So far this year the number of thefts or burglaries from vehicles stayed for the most part between the 30s and 50s, with a high of 61 in May, according to police. In 2006 the reported number of burglaries stayed consistent between the 60s and 80s with a high of 86 in February.

The law defines a burglary as some type of break-in requiring the thief to get through a locked door or window, Sgt. Jeff Brouwer said. A theft is, “say someone left their garage door open. If they had their garage door shut and they pried it open it would be a burglary,” Brouwer added.

Investigators contacted Monday could not point to any particular reason for the drop.

“Maybe people are getting better at locking their doors,” Lt. Craig Fox said.

Police have also nabbed a few crews of burglars. The thieves stay in local hotels and head out into the neighborhoods en masse in search of unlocked car doors, Fox said.

— Kelly Strodl