PARSIPPANY, NJ – If you leave your car doors unlocked at night, or worse, leave your key fob in your unlocked car at night, police in Parsippany are warning you.
It’s a bad idea.
“Recently, we have seen a turn in tactics that criminals are using in Parsippany and surrounding towns. Criminals are checking vehicles (usually high-end ones) parked in a driveway, and instead of pulling on the vehicle door handle to see if they are locked or unlocked and walking away, they are now checking the house doors and sometimes windows if the vehicle is found to be locked,” the department said today. “We have multiple incidents, verified by victim CCTV footage, showing these criminals pulling on front doors or entering open garages. We have had 3 different incidents in the last week, along with more last month, where criminals have resorted to these tactics.”
These incidents are frequently happening between 1 AM and 6 AM. Here are just some of the incidents reported to police recently.
•Early this morning an unknown suspect attempted to enter the front door of a house on Alan Drive, but the door was locked.
•Shortly after the attempted burglary on Alan Drive, a unknown suspect entered an occupied residence on Mitchell Road. While inside the house, they located a set of vehicle keys, which allowed them to steal the vehicle. The homeowner was awakened by his dog barking and then witnessed his vehicle being driven away.
•Last week, an occupied house on Lord Stirling Drive left the garage open and interior garage door open accidentally, and the criminal entered the house, but left once the alarm sounded, which alerted the residences.
•Last month an occupied house was entered through a garage window and one vehicle was stolen and another was rummaged through.
“This is just a small sampling of some of the recent crime that has taken place within Parsippany,” the department warned. “Although these incidents happened in the same section of town, they can, and do happen in other areas as well. We strongly encourage our residents to lock their vehicles, utilize alarm systems with motion detection, lock exterior doors and interior garage doors, and have security lighting activated at night to help deter these criminals.”