Pekin Police Unleash Simple Campaign to Stop Car Burglaries
By: Eugene Daniel
Updated: May 3, 2012
PEKIN- Pekin police say they're fed up with the number of car burglaries they've responded to, so now they're doing something about it.
Carla McCallum feels so secure in her Pekin neighborhood that she rarely considers someone breaking into her car.
Most of us have grown up here all of our lives and we've never had a problem with it. Our parents never had a problem with it. Our grandparents never had a problem with it," she said. "Unless it happens to us, we don't even think about it."
Mike killebrew says for some people car security may be easy to look over.
"You get caught up in day-to-day activities and you know its always the 'not me' mentality. It won't be me. Then you come out and your car stereo's gone," Killebrew said.
But that's exactly why Pekin police say people are falling victim to car burglaries. More than 1,000 have happened over the last five years. Most involve unlocked cars in residential areas.
"As long as its easy enough as just lifting someone's car door handle to get property, to get money. We're always going to have this problem," said Don Jolly, the city's public information officer.
So police are initiating a new public awareness campaign called "Hide, Lock, Take." It reminds people to "hide their things, lock their doors and take their keys."
"What we're going to do is we have numerous signs that are going to go out throughout the community. At intersections, in neighborhoods. Informational fliers are going out."
More than thirty signs will be posted throughout the city by the end of the month. Jolly says officers will also go door-to-door in certain neighborhoods, reminding residents to lock up.
Pekin says its a simple solution for a major problem. But residents don't think so.
"It sounds like lip service to me. We're talking about making it safer but we're telling you to do it," said Killebrew.
"No, not unless it happens to them personally. I don't think that a signs going to make any difference," said McCallum.
Carla McCallum feels so secure in her Pekin neighborhood that she rarely considers someone breaking into her car.
Most of us have grown up here all of our lives and we've never had a problem with it. Our parents never had a problem with it. Our grandparents never had a problem with it," she said. "Unless it happens to us, we don't even think about it."
Mike killebrew says for some people car security may be easy to look over.
"You get caught up in day-to-day activities and you know its always the 'not me' mentality. It won't be me. Then you come out and your car stereo's gone," Killebrew said.
But that's exactly why Pekin police say people are falling victim to car burglaries. More than 1,000 have happened over the last five years. Most involve unlocked cars in residential areas.
"As long as its easy enough as just lifting someone's car door handle to get property, to get money. We're always going to have this problem," said Don Jolly, the city's public information officer.
So police are initiating a new public awareness campaign called "Hide, Lock, Take." It reminds people to "hide their things, lock their doors and take their keys."
"What we're going to do is we have numerous signs that are going to go out throughout the community. At intersections, in neighborhoods. Informational fliers are going out."
More than thirty signs will be posted throughout the city by the end of the month. Jolly says officers will also go door-to-door in certain neighborhoods, reminding residents to lock up.
Pekin says its a simple solution for a major problem. But residents don't think so.
"It sounds like lip service to me. We're talking about making it safer but we're telling you to do it," said Killebrew.
"No, not unless it happens to them personally. I don't think that a signs going to make any difference," said McCallum.
