NORTHBROOK — A rash of five car burglaries between October 6 and 10 in Northbrook is part of an area-wide, two-week spike extending from Libertyville to Naperville, according to Dan Petka, the community relations supervisor for the Northbrook Police Department.
Petka said Northbrook detectives have been communicating with other departments and learned the increase is widespread. He said he does not know if it is related to the string of car thefts and break-ins reported on the North Shore over the summer.
Unlike the summer crime wave where cars were left unlocked, two of the recent crimes involved forced entry and three did not, according to Northbrook Police reports. In two of the cases, windows were smashed.
In one case, a woman left her car unlocked when she entered a day-care facility on October 10 to drop off her child in the 1100 block of Techny Road. When she returned five minutes later her purse containing a driver’s license, credit cards and personal items was missing, according to the report.
“She was only gone five minutes,” said Petka. “It doesn’t take long for someone to see something and act. It takes less than 30 seconds. Lock your car.”
In this case, Petka said the victim said someone tried to make a purchase with one of her credit cards. He said the credit card company could not tell where the purchase was made.
It only took 10 minutes for a burglar to reach through an open window of a car parked in the 3400 block of Dundee Road on October 7 and remove a purse hidden under the passenger seat, according to the report. The victim reported she also took her child into a day-care facility and returned.
The two forced break-ins occurred approximately 10 to 15 minutes away from each other between 6 and 9:30 p.m., according to Petka and the report.
A woman reported parking her car at the Racquet Club in the 2900 block of Dundee Road between 6 and 9:30 p.m. October 6. When she returned, the front passenger window of her car was shattered, according to the report. The burglar took a purse with a wallet inside, which the victim had left on the console of the vehicle. The victim said three credit cards, her driver’s license and $50 were taken.
Another woman reported that she found the rear driver’s side window shattered and her purse missing when she returned to her car in a parking lot in the 1800 block of Janke Road between 7 and 9 p.m. October 6, according to the report.
In the fifth incident, a man reported he parked his car overnight outside his home on October 8 in the 2100 block of Ash Lane. When he returned in the morning his wallet was gone, according to the report. The victim reported $80, credit cards and a gift cards were taken. Petka said the victim reported there was an attempt to use a credit card but the credit card company could not determine the location.
