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Vehicle thefts, break-ins prompt residents to begin neighborhood watch in Broad Ripple

Posted at 9:51 PM, Jun 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-08 01:49:30-04

BROAD RIPPLE, Ind. -- People who live in Broad Ripple have started a neighborhood watch following several vehicle break-ins and at least two vehicle thefts early Wednesday morning.

"It's such a serious, severe violation when somebody comes and does something to your home and you feel afraid that, who knows if you can protect it," said Carly Swift, theft victim.

Swift always parks her 2014 Land River in the driveway, just steps from her front door.

But she says she forgot her keys inside the SUV when she was picked up for dinner Tuesday night.

At 4 a.m. Wednesday, Swift's home surveillance camera caught a male getting into her SUV. It was gone in 25 seconds. 

"I really just kind of felt upset that someone could be so brazen and run up to my home," said Swift.

The video shows that the keys were in the thief's hands when he ran up to the Land Rover.

"They were my keys. So they would have been here earlier in the night which was probably the most unsettling part. They had been here a couple of different times," said Swift.

She isn't alone. A Toyota Prius was reported stolen four blocks away.

Eight neighbors in a roughly half-mile radius reported their vehicles were broken into, either to police or on the Next Door app.

All of the crimes happened between 2 and 5 a.m. Wednesday.

"The police can't always be there, so we want to be the eyes and ears for the police to help them out," said Matt Williford, who launched a neighborhood watch.

The first patrols went out early Thursday morning.

"We want to preserve the community we live in. And this is part of it, keeping it safe," said Williford.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says make sure you lock your car before you go inside your home for the night.

Also, be sure to bring in all valuables and keep anything thieves might want out of sight.

If you do have to park on the street, try to leave your car in a well-lit area.

And if a street light is burned out or there isn't one, you can ask the city to put one in.

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