JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is warning residents of a crime alert affecting the city.
According to JSO, in the past 60 days there have been 17 reports of residential burglaries where the victim's keys to their vehicle were stolen in addition to other property, including jewelry, laptops, iPads, money, televisions and weapons. Later, sometimes days or weeks after the initial burglary, the victim's vehicle is stolen from his or her residence, using the keys taken earlier.
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Police said the incidents are occurring city-wide with the majority of them happening on the Westside.
News4Jax covered one of the incidents that happened in Murray Hill earlier this month. The residents said thieves stole laptops, televisions and the couple's spare car keys. Later, the thieves came back and stole the couple's Mustang and Chrysler 300.
John Boatright Jr. is the owner of Dedges Lock and Security Group, and when he heard about the shocking double break-ins happening around the city, he told News4Jax why every home should have high-level security.
"Always rekey your locks if there's any doubt. It's cheap insurance. It's peace of mind," said Boatright.
Boatright said if a person wants to invest in home security, he recommends installing a camera outside your home.
But News4Jax Crime and Safety Analyst Gil Smith said to, more importantly, secure the entrances in the front, side and back of your home.
"If you don't have an alarm system, at least have steel doors installed in the home if you can afford to do that. They are kind of expensive, but if you're going to install steel doors, you're going to want to install steel door frames also," Smith said.
"Security is like, it's layered. You want good-luck locks, you want an alarm, if you can, cameras are good, good lighting, you want as much together working together as you can so that it makes it difficult for the thief," Boatright said.
Smith also said to write down all serial numbers of the electronics so the thieves can't sell the items to pawn shops.
JSO offered some safety tips for victims of a burglary in which keys are stolen:
- Rekey your vehicle or change the locks at your house.
- Store your vehicle in a locked garage, if available.
- Let your neighbors know what has occurred so they can be aware of suspicious activity.
Anyone who has any information on the identity of these residential burglary suspects is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and receive a possible reward up to $3,000, contact Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.