Thefts from vehicles surge in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Thefts from vehicles have skyrocketed during the summer months in Cedar Rapids.

Through May of this year, there were 284 reports of thefts from vehicles. By the end of August, the number climbed to 631.

Even more troubling is what was taken from those vehicles in a dozen incidents: 14 firearms.

'Both of those facts are very concerning,” Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said of the total thefts from vehicles, as well as the firearm thefts. 'But, obviously, that there are 14 more lethal weapons out somewhere concerns me the most. They are lethal weapons.”

The stolen weapons include one shotgun and 13 handguns. A majority of the handguns are semiautomatics, Jerman said. Four of the firearms were stolen from the northeast quadrant, five were stolen from the southwest quadrant and three were stolen from the southeast quadrant. In a year marked with dozens of reports of shootings throughout the city, 14 weapons unaccounted for in the city is a concern for Jerman. However, none of those weapons have been used in those shootings, Jerman said.

'There's been nothing to connect any of our shots fired or shootings to any of these 14 weapons,” he said.

In addition to the firearms, Jerman said there have been incidents where the gun owner's permit to carry was stolen. There have also been many thefts of people's purses, billfolds and wallets, which can lead to other crimes such as identity theft and credit card fraud, Jerman said.

Unfortunately, people in Cedar Rapids are making themselves easy targets. Jerman said of the 133 thefts from vehicles in August, 80 percent involved vehicles that were unlocked or unsecured.

'This is one of the top crimes nationally, not just here in Cedar Rapids,” he said. 'It's also one of the most easily prevented crimes. One, lock your car. But two - even more so - don't leave an item of value in the car. If you do that, you will really reduce the opportunity for the crime to occur.

Sgt. Scott Gaarde with the Iowa City Police Department agrees. There were 158 thefts from vehicles in Iowa City in 2013. There have been 76 through July of this year, which Gaarde said appeared to be fairly routine.

'The car burglaries go in spurts,” Gaarde said. 'It depends on whether certain groups of individuals are being active.”

Both Gaarde and Jerman recommend keeping your vehicle locked and not keeping valuables out in the open. Doing so makes the vehicle a more high-value target for would-be thieves.

'Fourteen more firearms that are out in the city is very concerning,” Jerman said. 'It's even more frustrating when we're looking to address gun violence in the city and just to put another log on the fire, as they say, is not making our job easier. The biggest component of community policing is working together with the community. That's all I'm asking: if the community can assist us in preventing themselves from being victimized.”