Whitefish Bay 'Easy Pickings' For Car Thieves, Police Say

WHITEFISH BAY, WI — Police in Whitefish Bay say burglars and car thieves are learning that the village is easy pickings for them, and that it's up to residents to do some common-sense things to protect their own property.

After four cars were reported stolen in the last two weeks, police are urging residents to lock their cars, and keep the keys with them - as opposed to leaving the key fob somewhere in the car.

"If you have an attached garage, keep the door between the house and the garage locked," police said in a statement to Patch. "Please leave exterior lights on at night. If you see people engaging in suspicious activity call 911 right away."

Of the four stolen cars, police say three of the cars were unlocked and had the keys in the car's cabin. The fourth auto theft was reported early Wednesday morning, police say. The vehicle owner told police that a person opened the door of her unlocked car that was parked in their driveway, and used the garage door opener to open the overhead garage door.

Once in the garage, police say the suspect entered the mud room of the house and removed car keys to drive away another car that had been in the driveway.

Whitefish Bay police say that a group of suspects has been finding easy targets in Whitefish Bay, and as a result, keep coming back to steal more cars. The Whitefish Bay Police Department says they've arrested several suspects related to these auto thefts and vehicle break-ins.

"The criminal element communicates amongst themselves when they learn of easy targets, which bring them to our community," Whitefish Bay Police said in a statement. "Please make it hard on these criminals."