In response to a recent hike in car burglaries, the Gainesville Police will be adding extra patrol officers in downtown Gainesville at night.
Since Oct. 1, 25 cars downtown have been burglarized on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, GPD spokesman Keith Kameg said.
The cars have all belonged to people out at clubs or bars downtown, he said.
Although the burglars are primarily smashing in windows to get inside the cars, some of the cars that have been broken into have been left unlocked, Kameg said.
The stolen items have mostly been small electronics like iPods and GPS devices, he said.
"It used to be that people would only take things from the front seat that are in plain view in the car," Kameg said. "Now, some criminals are going as far as popping the trunk and taking things out of there as well."
A lot of women are having their purses stolen after they leave them on the floorboards of the cars, he said.
"People who are going out downtown should only take what they really need," he said. "If they are leaving their purses in the car, chances are they don't really need them."
When it's necessary to keep items in the car, Kameg suggested that people not leave them in plain view for others to see.
GPD will have more officers on patrol downtown, both in uniform and plain clothes, in an attempt to reduce the number of break-ins, Kameg said.
"As the economy gets worse, we don't think this problem is going to get better," he said.
