Statesboro PD strives to decrease vehicle break-ins

  • The graphic above displays the statistics of vehicle robberies in Statesboro since 2016. 

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  • The graphic above displays the statistics of on-campus versus off-campus vehicle break-ins in 2018.

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  • The Statesboro Police Department has been attempting to lower the number of vehicle break-ins in 2018 by using Twitter, using the hashtag #lockyourcar.

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Rachel Adams
October 30, 2018

The Statesboro Police Department has been attempting to lower the number of vehicle break-ins in 2018 by using Twitter.

On March 15, Statesboro PD posted its first tweet regarding locking vehicles at 9 p.m. to help prevent theft, using the hashtag #lockyourcar. Since this initial tweet, the SPD has tweeted periodically at 9 p.m. to remind people in Statesboro to lock their cars.

Statesboro PD Chief Mike Broadhead said in a previous George-Anne article that in 2016, there were a total of 289 “entering auto” cases, of which 51 were “forced entry” and 238 were to unlocked vehicles. In 2017, there were a total of 212 “entering auto” cases, which 38 were forced and 174 were to unlocked vehicles.

Since the beginning of 2018, there have been a total of 190 “entering auto” reports in Statesboro, an email from Chief Broadhead said. Of those reports, 27 were forced, and 163 were to unlocked vehicles.

Additionally, there have been a total of 14 “entering auto” reports on the GS campus, an email from Geoffrey Carson, Associate University Counsel, said. Of those reports six were forced, five were to unlocked vehicles, and three were unknown.

So far this year, there have been 85 fewer “entering auto” reports than in 2016. Of those, there have been 18 fewer forced entries and six fewer to unlocked vehicles.

There have been eight fewer “entering auto” reports than in 2017. Of those, there have been five fewer forced entries and 70 fewer to unlocked vehicles.

According to Statesboro PD’s Facebook page, 71 of the car break-ins in 2016 and 2017 involved the theft of firearms.

Broadhead said that since the beginning of 2018, there have been a total of 17 cases that included the theft of a firearm from a vehicle, 54 fewer than the past two years.

“This includes 16 handguns and one rifle. In each case of a stolen firearm, the vehicle was non-forced,” Broadhead said.

If you witness any vehicle break-ins, contact Statesboro PD at (912) 764-9911 or Georgia Southern Police Department at (912) 478-5234.

Rachel Adams, The George-Anne News Reporter, ganewsed@georgiasouthern.edu