Following a recent rash of car thefts and break-ins, the Signal Mountain Police Department is reminding residents to keep their car doors locked.
On the night of Jan. 8, 30-40 car break-ins were reported to Signal Mountain police and two cars were stolen, according to Police Chief Mike Williams.
Both stolen cars had been left unlocked with the keys inside. All the burglarized vehicles had also been left unlocked, and the thieves didn’t break any windows or pry open any doors, Williams said.
“It seems simple, but if people would just lock their car doors, that would pretty much take care of it,” he said.
Five of the thefts were in the Old Town neighborhood, but the majority were on the other side of Ridgeway Avenue on or near Signal Road.
Based on security camera footage provided by citizens, the police believe the thefts on Jan. 8 were carried out by a group of white and black males.
The thieves have not yet been caught, but the stolen cars were found on Glass and Campbell streets in East Chattanooga.
A different stolen car the thieves were seen driving on security camera footage was found abandoned on the mountain.
Williams said the thieves are taking mainly cash, guns, laptops, and backpacks to carry stolen items. Some of the cars that were reported broken into had nothing missing.
A rash of car break-ins isn’t extremely unusual in the town, which had a similar uptick a few years ago in the Old Town neighborhood, Williams said.
Other nearby jurisdictions are currently having issues with car thefts as well, including Lookout Mountain, which had a surge in break-ins the same week, said Williams. The recovered stolen cars contained stolen mail from Lookout Mountain, Hixson and Red Bank, he added.
Signal Mountain police are working with the Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Red Bank and Lookout Mountain departments in Tennessee and Georgia to coordinate their efforts and catch the thieves, said Williams.
To avoid being victimized, he advises everyone to lock their cars at night and not to leave extra keys inside their cars – particularly electronic key fobs, which need only be somewhere inside the car for a thief to start the vehicle.
He also urges people to report to police any suspicious activity they may see on their security camera footage. If residents witness thieves in the act, he cautions against confronting them and asks that they call the police instead.
Williams also asks that people report break-ins even if nothing is stolen, because the department maps out those incidents in order to allocate resources where they’re most needed.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.