CLEVELAND — Another Cleveland neighborhood is facing an increase in car burglaries. Tremont residents are taking matters into their own hands and coming together to increase safety in the community.

Two weeks after the latest spate of car burglaries, the windows can still be seen under Ben Harrison’s jeep.

“One day I went out to go to work and noticed that the parking lot looked like an ocean of broken glass. I looked around and saw that all the windows of those cars there had been broken. Honestly, there wasn’t a single person, unless they were there, whose windows weren’t broken. So I ran to my car and sure enough, my passenger window was just gone,” Ben said.

In late September, Harrison and several other people’s car windows in Tremont were broken and items were stolen. They took the medication he was prescribed, but the worst part was that the thieves didn’t need to break his window to get into his car.

“All they had to do was open the door. I always leave it unlocked,” Harrison said.

Jonathan Petrea, president of the Auburn Lincoln Park Block Club, confirms this was not the first incident in the neighborhood.

“All I know is that there have probably been three major episodes in the last four weeks. Some people have been victimized twice, not once, but twice,” Petrea said.

Over the past two months, News 5 has published a list of break-ins in Cleveland.

• October 24: 22 cars were broken into near Playhouse Square.
• End of September: 23 vehicles in Gordon Square
• Labor Day weekend: 21 cars were struck in Cleveland Heights.

In September, moviegoers in Gordon Square went out to find their windows smashed.

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“They came in waves,” said Sergeant Freddy Diaz of the Cleveland Police Public Information Office. “We had a few arrests, the incidents went down and we had a few more. »

To combat this problem, Cleveland police have increased patrols and implemented a new policy.

“We also adopted a policy requiring officers to activate their patrol lights on the rear of vehicles to be more visible and hopefully also deter,” Diaz said.

Despite these efforts, burglaries continue. In Tremont, residents are increasing their security measures and hoping to see an increased police presence.

“Individuals have raised funds to install cameras in public places. There’s a big movement of individual homeowners putting cameras on their doors,” Petrea said.

Because residents like Harrison are frustrated by this recurring problem and just want their streets to be safe again.

“I always leave my car unlocked. I could just put up a sign saying: Hey, please don’t break my windows. They’re expensive,” Harrison said.

In the meantime, Cleveland Police advise residents to avoid leaving valuables in their cars, make sure their vehicles are locked and park in well-lit areas. In addition, any break-ins must be reported to the police.