A string of vehicle break-ins occurred Sunday in two campus parking lots despite preventative measures the University Police have taken to alert car owners who might be at risk.

Police believe at least nine break-ins in parking lots 1D and 2G on Sunday evening were committed by the same person or group of people, University Police Spokesman Capt. John Brandt said. He would not say if security cameras in the area had captured video of the incidents.

Brandt said valuables – including iPods, laptop computers, purses, cameras, wallets, a Playstation Portable and even a television – were visible inside the locked cars, making them enticing targets.

“That’s our greatest enemy – visible stuff,” he said. “The crime of opportunity is only there if they see something.”

But University Police began warning specific people about leaving valuables in their cars a couple months ago by sending letters to the owners of cars they see with visible valuables, specifically naming the date, location and visible items, Brandt said.

“We’re doing our best to get the message out to people,” he added. “All it takes is ‘Csssh,’ the window’s broken – five, six seconds a car.”

Brandt said his department pays 27 cents to mail post cards through bulk mail and spends only a few seconds on each car.

The parking lots in Sunday’s crimes may have been targeted because of their relative seclusion, Brandt said. Lot 1D is behind University of Maryland University College, and 2G is behind the Eppley Recreation Center. Lot 2G was filled with people attending the National YMCA swim meet at the Eppley Recreation Center, many of whom Brandt said left valuables in their cars without even locking doors or closing windows.

“These people must think that Prince George’s County is a wonderful place,” he said, adding that University Police later warned the people attending the swim meet about the car break-ins.

Officers, who are already on duty patrolling the parking lots, now also carry forms with checklists of signs a car might be at risk.

“They’re already out there; they’re just doing something a little more while they’re there,” Brandt said, adding that University Police sends out about 20 to 30 cards a week.

In February, there was a series of thefts of Global Positioning System devices from cars in Lot 1B.

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