TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Tallahassee police are working to uncover a set of neighborhood crimes.
They say, there's been a spike in property crime over the last few weeks.
Police warn the crimes often can happen in less than five or ten seconds.
Someone walking down the street could be analyzing how far an item is from the street and if he or she can get away with stealing it.
TPD says in some cases people are actually stalked to see what time a person is home and what time they're not at home.
One local mom experienced it first hand, as her son's Christmas present was taken right from their carport.
"It's happened before where we've had someone come to the house and take stuff out of our cars but our son's bike being stolen, definitely waking up Monday morning was not the kind of news you want to get," said Alana Romig.
Police are warning residents about the importance of locking up your vehicles and valuables to prevent other crimes like this from happening.
TPD Officer Damon Miller says since we are in hurricane season, another popular item taken by thieves is generators.
He says no matter the item, write down the serial number and keep it in a safe place so police can put it in their database, and then also register those items with the company who makes them.
Another suggestion? If you are leaving town, call TPD and request extra patrols in your neighborhood.
