Northville Township police warn of vehicle robberies at day care facilities
Police are encouraging residents in Northville Township to stay alert after a woman's car was robbed at a local day care.
"Basically, it's just a crime of opportunity," said Northville Police Lt. Patrick Reinke.
Reinke says it was a day care off Silver Spring Drive where a woman's vehicle was victim to a larceny this month.
"Young lady was dropping her child off at the facility, went inside real quick to run her kid in, by the time she came out, someone had gone into her car and stolen a few items," said Reinke.
While this may be the first reported incident in Northville Township recently, Reinke says these types of robberies at child care facilities are not uncommon. In fact, they're on the rise across Metro Detroit.
"They expect you're going to run in real quick, probably be a little off guard, leave your doors unlocked, and just create an opportunity while even though you're inside the business for a couple minutes, that's all the time they need with an unlocked car to go in and steal some items," saidReinke.
The best advice to prevent these thefts?
"Purses, cellphones, electronics ... hide them away so they're not plainly visible. Lock your doors, hide your items. Doesn't matter if you're going in for a minute or for a few hours. That's really your best deterrent," said Reinke.
As far as where this investigation stands, police tell CBS News Detroit they're still working on tracking down leads. The department received a description of a gray SUV, but the incident is still under investigation.