Car break-ins in Bellingham were up late last year. Here’s why most are likely to go unsolved
The number of car break-ins reported to the Bellingham Police Department during the second half of 2021 was up 86% from the number of reports officers received during the first half of the year.
In fact, the 760 vehicle prowls reported between July and December in Bellingham were higher than the city has seen in any six-month period (January through June or July through December) in the past six years, according to data emailed at the request of The Bellingham Herald by Lt. Claudia Murphy. The next highest was 731 reported between July and December of 2016.
With 1,168 reports through all of 2021, Bellingham saw its highest number of vehicle prowls since it had 1,314 in 2016 and a 16% rise over the 1,011 seen in 2020.
Unfortunately, Murphy lamented, most of those crimes go unsolved.
“We know it is frustrating to residents who have had their car broken into to feel like there is nothing which can be done,” Murphy wrote in her email to The Herald. “We too wish we could prevent vehicle prowls and catch more prowlers.”
Murphy reported a glitch in the department’s crime statistics page makes it difficult to determine if one area of the city is being hit harder than others, but taking a stroll through social media sites, such as Nextdoor, Reddit or various Facebook groups, shows that residents in just about every corner of the city have been victimized.
And Bellingham is not alone in seeing the number of vehicle prowls increase in 2021, as the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Stats page show reports increased 7% over 2020 numbers to 505 reports in 2021.
“The crime is an easy one to commit, given that so many people are trusting and leave expensive items in their cars,” Murphy wrote. “That is why we need the continued reporting of vehicle prowls, so if expensive items are taken, we can get them entered into the system in hopes of recovering them.
“Then we can charge a person with possession of stolen property or in the case of a credit card use, with forgery and theft.”
Difficult crime to solve
One of the biggest complaints expressed on social media posts about car prowls is a perceived sense of little help or interest from police.
But Murphy said a lack of interest from investigating officers is far from the truth.
The truth, she said, is they just don’t have much information to work off of to solve the crimes.
“Vehicle prowls often occur overnight, without witnesses present to provide us with details of the crime or a suspect description,” Murphy wrote. “Without a suspect description or a witness, officers are not able to advance any sort of investigation on a vehicle prowl.”
In reality, Murphy said, the investigations that are able to move forward are typically the ones where a credit card was stolen and then used somewhere.
But even then, it doesn’t always lead to an arrest for the car break-in.
“At that time, if there is video of the credit card use, we may be able to do some follow-up if we can see the person using the card,” Murphy wrote. “They may not be the person who committed the vehicle prowl but have possession of the credit card now.
“If that person can be identified we can charge them for the credit card use, but not the vehicle prowl or theft, unless they admit it.”
After gathering information and creating a report about vehicle prowls, Murphy said investigating officers will follow up with victims if there is a lead, but “sadly vehicle prowls tend not to get solved.”
“Every now and then we catch someone in the act and are able to backtrack and find several vehicles broken into or find stolen property we can trace back to cars which were prowled,” Murphy wrote.
Prowl prevention
Obviously, the best way to prevent having your car broken into is to make sure it’s locked and the windows rolled up every time you leave.
But Murphy said it’s equally important to make sure you don’t leave any valuables locked inside to entice would-be thieves. That means no wallets, no phones, no computers, no backpacks, no briefcases, no guns and no other valuable things in plain sight.
“We suggest not having any of these things in your car when parking at trailheads,” Murphy wrote. “Vehicle prowl suspects know runners, cyclists, and hikers are often folks who own expensive gear and electronics. Many wait for runners and bikers to leave their car and then break in, because they know athletes do not want to carry their wallets with them. Many folks run, hike, bike or golf after work and leave their backpacks and briefcases in the passenger compartment.
“Opportunistic thieves will steal what they can see.”
While it’s important not to leave anything inside your car that prospective thieves can see, Murphy said it’s also important not to leave things outside your car either.
“Do not leave expensive bikes on your cars,” she said, adding, “while this is a theft, instead of a prowl, it is just as frustrating.”
If you do have to leave your bike locked to your car, Murphy suggested using a good lock and registering your bike with an online vendor, such as 529Garage.
And most importantly, Murphy said, is to make sure you have a record of your bike’s serial number.
“If an officer runs that serial number, it will come back as stolen,” Murphy wrote. “So often we take reports of bikes taken from or out of cars, but the victim does not have the serial number available and we are not able to enter it, so if another officer comes across it and runs the number, it will not be identified as stolen.”
Murphy also suggested that if your car is broken into and your wallet is stolen, make sure to report it immediately and follow that with a call to cancel any stolen credit cards.
“DO NOT have your pin number anywhere in your wallet or bags, thieves count on it,” Murphy wrote.
She also advises checking your credit within the first year after having a wallet stolen to make sure no new credit cards have been fraudulently opened in your name.
