About 40 Unlocked Cars Broken Into in Hillsborough

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — "Crime of opportunity." That is what Hillsborough Township Police are describing the rash of car burglaries plaguing the town over the past few days.

Approximately 40 cars have been burglarized since Sunday night, Hillsborough Police Lt. Charles Boyle told Patch.

And as many as 18 cars were hit in one night.

"A significant if not all the cars were left unlocked," Boyle said. "We are getting it in concentrated areas. It's not like one car on a street but instead eight cars on one block. It is an obvious crime of opportunity."

An alert was sent out by police through text and email warning residents to lock their cars and remove valuables from inside.

"This is not unique to Hillsborough," Boyle said. "We kind of need to impress on people that regardless of how nice and safe Hillsborough is, we still need to be diligent. Don't leave valuables in your car, lock your car. It's just that simple. Sometimes, myself included, get complaisant since this is such a nice area and not thinking about getting victimized."

The burglaries are occurring during the over night hours and criminals are either ransacking cars taking nothing or stealing coins, cash and electronic valuables.

There have been no forced entry burglaries reported.

Hillsborough police have stepped up enforcement on this very active investigation.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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