Over 400 cars broken into in Waterloo region this year, police say

Last year, Waterloo Regional Police say there were 3,476 reports of vehicles being broken into.

That trend appears to have continued in 2020 as police say there have already been 437 reports this year.

A Waterloo police spokesperson says that it is too small a period to say if the numbers are increasing, however.

Police say the cars are being broken into in driveways, parking lots, or parking garages and in many cases, drivers have made the thieves lives easier by not locking their doors.

Police say that the thieves are also targeting personal identity items such as passports, ownership documents, insurance documents or sensitive work data.

“We are just reminding people not to leave important documents in their vehicles and to keep their doors locked,” Const. Andre Johnson told Global News.

Police are suggesting drivers keep their ownership and insurance papers in their wallet; in the case of a shared vehicle, they advise motorists to make a copy and have each person keep the documents with them.

0:29 Video captures young male checking for unlocked vehicles

Anyone who has been a victim of a vehicle break-in where documents have been stolen is advised to contact a credit monitoring agency and their financial banking institution immediately.

Police say to consider how little time it is to keep a car locked versus the time and effort involved in replacing stolen items.