An OU Police Department alert reported a series of auto thefts near South Greek on Wednesday.
A vehicle was stolen by three individuals wearing hooded shirts, masks and gloves at 4:30 p.m., Aug. 18 at 103 West Timberdell Rd., according to the alert. The victim reported the crime at 8:47 p.m.
These individuals are believed responsible for multiple vehicle burglaries during the same time frame according to the alert.
“These groups find these highly populated areas of vehicles where they can just come through, and the days of people smashing out windows and stealing stuff are over, because that draws too much attention,” OUPD public information officer Chase Brooks said. “So they have kind of realized that they can just go out and check our doors for unlocked doors, and they can hit, theoretically, an unlimited number of cars without drawing much attention to them.”
Brooks said OUPD is working with the Norman Police Department to see what similarites exist between the car burglaries.
NPD wrote in an Aug. 24 tweet the majority of vehicles targeted were unlocked or with property visible. It said it will increase patrols in the area.
Investigators are following up on leads. The majority of vehicles were left unlocked or with property visible. We will increase patrols in the area but also ask for everyone to assist us by locking their doors, taking all keys from the vehicle, & removing any property from view.
— Norman Police (@normanokpd) August 24, 2021
Although the investigation is still ongoing, Brooks said police are pursuing leads. Until then, Brooks advises people to check on their cars and call if they see any suspicious activity in parking lots or areas filled with cars.
“OU is such a melting pot of people from different communities,” Brooks said. “Some people grew up in communities where people don't feel the need to lock their cars or even leave their keys in their car, and because thieves know that sort of thing, those sort of people are coming to OU (because) it's kind of a target or a crime of opportunity. So, it's important to obviously keep your vehicle locked and don't leave valuable items in your vehicle visible.”
This article was updated at 4:57 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, to include additional information from the Norman Police Department.
