Police see uptick in vehicular burglaries

San Marcos has seen a spike in vehicular burglaries in recent weeks, prompting police to remind residents not to make it any easier for would-be thieves. But an SMPD spokesman also noted that the incidence of the crime has traditionally been cyclical.

“We encourage the public to continue to be diligent in locking their vehicles, parking in a lighted area if possible and not leaving personal items in view of passersby,” Assistant Police Chief Brandon Winkenwerder said in an email response to a Daily Record request to city hall. “These are small things that can have a big impact in deterring vehicle burglaries.”

Four vehicular burglaries were reported Wednesday, and all had occurred that morning. One vehicle parked near Plato’s Closet had its front window shattered sometime between 9:50 and 11:15 a.m. by someone who stole a disabled vehicle kit worth $40. Another was outside Gold’s Gym and that vehicle had a front window broken as well sometime between 11 and noon. Police said $200 was taken from the glove box.

Two others were in the 1300 block of Thorpe Lane and were found with back windows smashed sometime between 8 and 11:30 a.m. Consoles and glove boxes had been gone through but nothing was taken.

A number of factors combine to make San Marcos particularly vulnerable to vehicular burglaries. One is the city’s location on the Interstate 35 corridor, providing easy on, easy off access both north and southbound.

Another is the presence of thousands of Texas State University students who, along with the large purpose-built apartment complexes where the vast majority live, often provide rich and soft targets for experienced gangs that later resell the electronics, jewelry, cash and credit cards they target.

Yet another is the city’s two outlet malls where shoppers routinely leave purchases in plain view.

According to figures provided to the Daily Record, the city saw 96 vehicular burglaries in the first quarter of this year, up from 87 in the first three months of 2018.

For the past 6 years, Winkenwerder says the city has seen an average of 415 annually. In 2015, there were only 348 but the next year the number of cases hit 489, the highest in the six-year period the SMPD provided numbers for. The second highest was 487 in 2013.

“If the rate for the first quarter of 2019 holds we could possibly see 384 vehicle burglaries,” Winkenwerder said. “While that would be an increase over 2018 (365) it would still be lower than 2016 and 2017 (398). It would also be below the number we generally average.”