Birmingham chief urges all to lock cars, take keys

Birmingham Police Chief Mark Clemence acknowledges a ring of car thieves are making their way around Birmingham and surrounding communities, but said some residents are making the job easier for thieves by leaving vehicles unlocked with the fobs or keys left inside the vehicle.

“Many of these are crimes of opportunities,” Clemence said. “They're going from vehicle to vehicle, quickly checking them out, and if yours if unlocked and there's a key fob, it's gone. Don't make it easy for them to take it.”

As of Friday, June 17, Clemence said Birmingham had received 16 reports of stolen unlocked vehicles during the night, and as of that date, they had recovered 13 of them. However, he noted, one was a “repeat customer.”

“We recovered one vehicle from someone who left their vehicle unlocked overnight with the fob inside, and returned it to them, and then a few days later, we got another report that their vehicle had been stolen again – and it was again unlocked with the fob inside,” Clemence said.

Birmingham police urge residents to lock their vehicles and take their keys/fobs with them.