EBR "Burglary Patrol" to start randomly inspecting vehicles

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BATON ROUGE - Sheriff's deputies announced plans Tuesday to start randomly checking vehicles in East Baton Rouge Parish to see how easily burglars could break into them.

Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said deputies would check for unlocked doors, open or cracked windows, valuables in plain sight and other things that could provide opportunities for burglars to take advantage of.

The deputies would then leave behind a flyer marked "pass" or "fail" with information about how to make vehicles more secure.

"The majority of vehicle burglaries worked by our office involve unlocked doors and valuables in plain sight," Gautreaux said. "Residents can take a few simple steps to protect themselves against a burglary. We hope that our new Vehicle Burglary Awareness Reports will help spread the word and reduce the number of burglaries."

Deputies and Baton Rouge Police announced recently they've been investigating a series of vehicle break-ins during the month of February. In those cases authorities said the victims all ran into a nearby store or gym for a few minutes, only to return and find their vehicle broken into and their identification or purse missing.

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