Auto burglaries are the most common felony in Starkville

It is not because thieves are breaking in but because people are simply not locking the car door.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It only takes a few simple steps to make sure your is in the same place you left at all times. If you’re not careful, you could fall victim to an auto burglary.

Josh Horton at the Starkville Police Department said it is a crime of opportunity.

“Generally what will happen, is someone will just walk through the parking lot, go from door to door, pull on the door handle, and keep moving,” Horton said.

Auto burglaries are the most common felony in the city of Starkville. It is not because thieves are breaking in but because people are simply not locking the car door.

“I think a lot of times, they forget,” Horton said. “We do have some people that come from smaller communities where auto burglaries don’t occur as much. ”

The Starkville police department says that this is nothing to be afraid of. It’s a simple fix, just lock the door.

“If you have a key fob, try not to leave it in the vehicle because a lot of times if you walk up to a vehicle and the key fob is in the car, it will still unlock the car,” Horton said.

There are cameras all over the city to try and catch those breaking into vehicles.

Statistically, most auto burglaries happen after nine pm. At the end of every day, the Starkville police department puts out a 9 p.m. routine notification on social media reminding people to lock their car doors.

“It’s put out on our page to try to help out the community reminding them, to make sure their vehicle is secured,” Horton said. “You don’t want to be a victim of one of these crimes and lose your property.”

If you see suspicious activity, call the Starkville Police Department at (662) 323-4134, and they will investigate.