Recent thefts and break-ins in area

Residents in unincorporated Boulder County — specifically in the Niwot and Gunbarrel area — have been reporting a string of car thefts and break-ins recently.

According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department, there have been 10 motor vehicle thefts and eight criminal trespasses in the vicinity of Niwot and Gunbarrel over the last month.

Carrie Haverfield, public information specialist for BCSO, said that this is an uptick in the average number of similar cases they would expect to see.

“I don’t know that I would say it’s abnormal, we unfortunately do see thefts fairly regularly,” Haverfield said. “On occasion we will see a particular neighborhood or area get hit multiple times within a short period of time. Often this is the same person or group of people that are targeting the area for some reason.”

Haverfield said that they have suspects in the motor vehicle theft cases, but that they would like anyone with additional information to contact them at 303-441-4444.

She added that there are various things people can do to help deter these crimes.

Keep your car doors, garages, and houses locked.

Don’t leave anything of value in the car.

Don’t keep spare keys or garage door openers in your car if it is parked outside.

Regularly check to make sure your license plate hasn’t been stolen or swapped for another plate, and know your license plate number in case you need to report an incident to law enforcement.

If you see or hear something suspicious, please call the department as it is happening. They will come out and check to make sure everything is okay.