The Wichita Police Department (WPD) is seeing a crime trend involving burglaries at local storage unit facilities.
Through the investigations of these burglaries, WPD believes multiple suspects are involved. Also, the suspects will generally break into a storage unit, take items, and then replace the lock, making it appear no burglary had occurred. In some of these situations, a theft has not been noticed for several weeks, which can hinder the investigation.
Police have suspect photos from one crime scene. On Monday, March, 23 an individual reported multiple burglaries to the storage units by the locks being cut off in the 1700 block of North Rock Rd, Wichita.The investigation revealed the pictured vehicle and two male suspects being involved. The case number is 20C018191.
Here are some tips to help keep your storage unit and property safe:
· Check on your storage unit as often as possible;
· Install a security lock that is difficult to cut with bolt cutters; and
· Inventory the items in your storage unit by taking pictures and documenting serial numbers of the items.
What to do if you are a victim:
· Call 911 to file a police report;
· Contact staff with the storage unit facility and ask them to hold any video evidence for police; and
· Check Facebook market place or other similar social media sites for your stolen property. Having photos and serial numbers of your items will help prove ownership of the stolen item.
“We are in desperate times for some, due to this unfortunate pandemic,” Captain Clay Germany said. “Suspects are looking for easy crimes of opportunity, and we want to make sure you take steps to keep yourself and your property safe.”
If anyone has any information about storage unit burglaries, they can call WPD detectives at 316-268-4407, Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111, or the See Something Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282.