St. Petersburg residents have increasingly been the target of car break-ins since 2015.
In the last three months of 2016, the city saw a 53 percent increase in car burglaries compared to the same time a year ago.
Police Chief Anthony Holloway says that most of these crimes happen when people leave their cars unlocked or leave valuables in plain sight.
"If people just can remember to lock their vehicles and double-check and don't leave their valuables in their cars, we both can work on this together to reduce burglaries in vehicles,” he explained.
Holloway recommends that people put valuables in the trunk and lock their car doors.
"People just, they can just take a half a second just to double-check and make sure they've locked their vehicles and they've taken valuables out of their car,” he said.
Holloway reminds people that they should call the police if they see suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.
