Philadelphia police look to crack down on car thefts, vandalism amid recent spree

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police in the Philadelphia area are looking to crack down on a recent rash of car thefts and vandalism.

At a town hall meeting in Fairmount on Tuesday night, residents voiced their concerns about a rash of recent car break-ins.

Jeff Brown said his car window was recently smashed, but thankfully, there was nothing valuable left inside his car.

"It is extremely frustrating because it's like there's nothing there. If I had left a watch, cash, whatever I can understand it. But this is like it was just done for fun," said Brown.

Suspects aren't just vandalizing cars, however. Video from early Friday morning shows three suspects running out of a car that had been stolen in Fairmount.

It appears that the thieves broke into the car through the sunroof.

A few weeks ago, Action News revealed a trend that people are stealing valuables and vehicle registrations.

The 6abc Data Journalism team found so far this year, there have been 6,852 thefts from vehicles in Philadelphia.

The majority of those thefts occurred in the 22nd, 9th, and 26th districts.

This issue isn't limited to the city. In Bensalem, Pennsylvania, Action News spoke with multiple residents at the Creekside Apartments who say they found their car windows smashed Tuesday morning.

"I just can't believe it. I don't even know if someone is going to break into my car again tonight. It's scary," said Kavell Comteh of Bensalem.

Now, they're living in fear of what could happen next.

"It makes us feel very insecure living here because right now it's cars - but what happens if they start breaking into apartments?" questioned Gloria Chuma of Bensalem.

Police said it's important to let them know if you have surveillance video so they can track down these criminals.