Police: Thieves Target Handicap Placards

GPS, CDs, MP3 players, cash, tools, wallets, purses, cell phones are all routinely stolen from cars in North Baltimore. Each week the is littered with larceny from auto entries.

But in recent months, something else has been regularly stolen—handicap placards.

In fact, the thefts have become so prevalent that late last week Deputy Maj. Rich Worley, second in command at the , sent an email urging residents to take the placards out of their parked cars.

"The theft of handicap placards from vehicles is on the rise. If you have a handicap placard please do not leave it in your vehicle when not in use," Worley wrote.

A review of the crime logs for the areas covered by North Baltimore Patch show there were nine reported incidents of handicap placards being stolen from cars dating back to late April.

But police don't know why there’s been the sudden spike in thieves targeting the placards.

Det. Nicole Monroe, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore City police, said that she wasn’t aware of any specific reason for the boost, but attributed the thefts to the same reason anything else is stolen.

“If someone thinks they can make a dollar off something they can steal from you they’re going to try to, unfortunately that’s the world we live in,” Monroe said.

• Larceny from Auto: 3300 block of Barclay Street, between 8 a.m. and 4:50 p.m., June 19. The window of a 2005 Ford was broken and a handicap placard was stolen.
• Larceny from Auto: 3300 block of Calvert Street, between 2:15 and 4:43 p.m., June 15. A handicap placard and Nokia cell phone were stolen from a white 2005 Kia Sadona with Maryland tags.
• Larceny from Auto: 800 block of West 36^th Street, between 2 and 3 p.m., June 7. A handicap placard was stolen from an unlocked 2007 Toyota.
• Larceny from Auto: 400 block of East 32^nd Street, between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., May 22. A handicap placard was stolen from a red 2008 Chrysler Town and Country.
• Larceny from Auto: 3200 block of Barclay Street, between noon and 4:30 p.m., May 15. A handicap placard was stolen from a red 2005 Pontiac.
• Larceny from Auto: 3200 block of Barclay Street, between 1 and 4:30 p.m., May 15. A handicap placard was stolen from a red 2004 Chevy Tahoe.
• Larceny from Auto: 3400 block of North Charles St., between noon and 3 p.m. May 10. A handicap placard was stolen from a black 2008 Honda Accord.
• Larceny from Auto: 5800 block of Halwyn Ave., between 10 p.m., April 22 and 4:55 p.m., April 24. A Garmin GPS and a handicap placard were stolen from a green 2000 Dodge Caravan.
• Larceny from Auto: 500 block E. Northern Parkway, between 1 and 2 p.m., April 24. A handicap placard was stolen from a blue 2008 Mercury Mariner.

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