On Aug. 7, the city of St. Louis Park issued a crime alert due to the increasing number of auto, home and garage burglaries.

The crimes typically occur overnight and involve a thief or thieves breaking into cars or houses to steal valuables and electronics.

Senior Jack Delaney experienced one of these thefts several weeks ago. While his family was out at the movies, his house was robbed and they lost computers, purses and other valuables.

“It’s just kind of scary to know that someone was there. You’re just in your house, minding your own business and unbeknownst to you someone is there in your house and they take your stuff,” Delaney said .

Delaney’s family called the police after they discovered the robbery and they found out that several houses had been robbed that night.

“They didn’t really find out much about the whereabouts of our stuff but now they’re patrolling the area a lot more and just watching out for the cases,” Delaney said.

The St. Louis Park Police Department believed the suspect to be travelling on bicycle and therefore increased the number of bike patrols in an effort to deter theft.

St. Louis Park Police Officer Max Peltola said he believes this particular thief has since been caught, but students should still be on cautious about leaving their valuables in sight to minimize the chances of becoming a victim of theft.

“The most unfortunate part with theft from autos is that the vast majority of them are somewhat preventable. People leave their cars unlocked,” Peltola said.

Peltola said the main issue with thefts from autos is that people leave their electronics or wallets easily visible inside their cars, and thieves will often break into cars to obtain these items.

“Specifically here at the school, I’d say students can protect themselves better against theft by keeping a closer eye on whatever product you have, an iPhone, or a Galaxy, or an iPod or whatever you’re using at the time. It’s just a lot easier to steal if you’re not paying attention to it or just leaving it sitting somewhere,” Peltola said.

The most important steps students can take to avoid becoming victims of a burglary are to never leave their cars unlocked, even for a short period, and to not leave any valuables or electronics in their cars or unattended.

An alternative to removing valuables from the car is to hide them in the trunk. Another important precaution to take is to hide charger cords from plain sight, because it encourages thieves to break into cars looking for smartphones or other electronics, according to the St. Louis Park Police Department.

The St. Louis Park Police Department urges anyone who sees or hears suspicious activity to call 911.