MUPD investigating car break-ins at Campus View
The MU Police Department is looking into a series of up to 15 car break-ins at Campus View Apartments.
One burglary involved a locked Ford Explorer and occurred sometime between 11pm. On Mar. 7 and 7:19 a.m. on Mar. 8. The passenger side was damaged as if it was pried open. A golf bag with golf clubs, a CPS and Oakley sunglasses were taken from the vehicle.
“It goes over $500 pretty quick between the items taken and the damage to the vehicle,” Weimer said.
Weimer said he didn’t know if all the break-ins happened at the same time, but it is likely they happened sometime on Mar. 7.
“We found cars that we think were broken into but we’re waiting for calls,” he said.
The Department of Residential Life said students needed to check their cars and see if they had been broken into.
Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Haden said thieves often target unlocked cars and go unnoticed because they look like they are just getting into their car.
Weimer said people should put items in their vehicles out of sight. Putting valuables in the glove box or trunk might prevent someone from breaking into the car, Weimer said.
“It’s happened in the past,” Weimer said. “That’s why during breaks, we work with parking to try to get cars to park in a common area so we can have officers keep an eye on them.”
Haden said the department has a volunteer who looks at larceny reports for motor vehicles. If there is a spike in the number of crimes or if a lot happen in a certain area, CPD can take more aggressive action.
“We don’t want to chase crime around; we want to stop it,” Haden said.