BOERNE, Texas — After a recent influx in vehicle burglaries and stolen vehicles, Boerne police is urging residents to get on a '9PM Routine' to deter crime.
In a social media post, the department offered basic tips on things to remember when it comes to leaving your vehicle in the evening.
Police recommend the Hide Lock Take approach:
- Hide or remove valuables from vehicle
- Remove vehicle key from vehicle
- Lock vehicle
- Close and lock all exterior doors
- Close garage door
Officers said property crimes trend higher in the summer months. Year-to-date Boerne PD has investigated 30 property crimes with seven happening within the last month. The most recent cases all involved unlocked vehicles.
Lt. James Schmidt said the number of property crimes is down from this time last year. However, detectives still like to remind the public with tips.
"We used to have a program called Hide Lock Take. It's the same thing you'll see in all different places. Basically, if you are going to keep any expensive items or items of value in your vehicle when you're not in it, you should hide them out of sight so that people can't walk up to the windows and see them," said Lt. Schmidt. "Obviously, locking your vehicle when you're not in it, when you go into the grocery store, when you go into your house, even if it's parked along the street."
He said these types of crimes can occur anywhere in town but the highest concentration is along the I-10 corridor near hotels and high density housing neighborhoods. It's also very common for these thieves to take stolen vehicles or property to San Antonio.
"Last year we made nine arrests in connection to vehicle burglaries and all nine were out of San Antonio, so we work with [SAPD] a lot," he said.
Meanwhile, data from San Antonio police shows motor vehicle theft is up more than 60 percent. From January to May 2023, the department has reported 7,396. That's up from the 4,546 reported in the same time period from 2022.
Data from June was not immediately available.