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Neighbors talk about car break-ins in Royal Palm Beach neighborhood

Posted at 11:00 PM, Dec 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-05 23:00:20-05

Patrick Figurella told NewsChannel 5 he had locked his car.

"The car has been locked all the time."

He said he's been a burglary victim not once, but twice. He said he always locked his car.

"This past weekend my car and five other cars were broken into Saturday night some time near midnight."

Neighbors in the La Mancha neighborhood in Royal Palm Beach are now sharing their surveillance video. In the video you can see someone walking up to cars, trying to find unlocked doors. And if they're locked, finding a way to open them.

Another neighbor said, "My son, we were out of town and he had the police come to the door and said that the neighbor had caught on camera that someone was trying to break into his truck. He called the cops and the guy dropped his stuff and ran." 

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says they investigated 980 reports of cars burglarized in unincorporated Palm Beach County from July 2017 to now.

The sheriff's office posted signs reminding people to lock their doors and not leave valuables inside of them. But the break-ins continue. The people here know by experience, they must protect themselves.

Neighbor Albert Lorenzo, "I empty my car out every night and I make sure it's locked before I finish with the evening."

Figurella said, "What I am doing is excavating my garage so that I can put my van in it. Many of the neighbors are having security systems installed as we speak."

The sheriff's office recommends people make sure the front of their homes are well lit. And if you can afford to do so, invest in a surveillance monitoring device.