Austin Police Department reports that garage burglaries are on the rise:

“This is the season. It’s summer. Many people are outside working in their yards. They leave the garage door open, and then thieves are driving around looking for opportunity,” said Austin Police Department Detective Jason Jewett.

One of the victims in Jester Estates is Senior Judge Jon Wisser. For years he’s sentenced crooks. This is the first time he’s been on the other side of the crime.

“I wasn’t gone but two minutes,” Judge Wisser said. “My garage door was open. The guy came in and stole my $4,000 carbon fiber bike.”

Crime of opportunity. Open doors, unlocked windows… most criminals want an easy target, an easy score, which they can then pawn.

We all do it… mow the lawn, leave the garage open. Might not be a big deal when you’re mowing/working on that side of the house, but then when you go into the backyard, it’s all unattended. And you might live in a “good neighborhood”, but check out these crime databases and you’ll see that crime strikes everywhere around you. So maybe when out working, close the garage door and lock it. Keep the opener in your pocket, the keys in your pocket, whatever. Maybe that’s a pain, but think about how much of of a pain it’ll be for all your things to get stolen and to deal with the loss, the police report, the insurance, and so on.

One thing I thought was cool in this story?

Families posted fliers in the neighborhood after many people started noticing items missing. A mail carrier saw the sign and notified police.

“That tip came in, and in about three days we had our guy,” says Detective Jewett.

Active and interested neighbors. They communicated with each other, they worked together. Involved and nosy neighbors can be good things.