SCHERTZ, Texas – A local police department is reminding residents to remain vigilant and take simple steps to avoid being the victim of a burglary.
The Schertz Police Department sent out a crime alert Monday on its Facebook page warning about recent garage burglaries.
Lt. John Correu said the latest crime happened in the middle of the day and the homeowner was just steps away when the thief struck.
"Over the weekend we had a garage that had some items removed from it," Correu said. "The owner had left the garage open and was out doing some other stuff in the backyard, when he came back later he noticed some of the items missing from his garage."
It's a crime investigators in Schertz and other surrounding communities have been responding to frequently, which is why they want to let the community know what's going on.
"We use Facebook and we use Twitter as a means to get these messages out to people. Unfortunately, a situation like this had to happen for us to make this post," Correu said. "What we're hoping is that those people who follow us will see this and hopefully prevent others from happening."
Correu said the majority of the burglary crimes they've worked recently have been crimes of opportunity, with homeowners leaving their garage doors open or their cars unlocked, making the burglar's job very easy.
"People are walking the neighborhoods waiting to find the door that's not locked," Correu said. "They're leaving items in plain view in the car and they're leaving garage doors open. So all of them are crimes that could have been prevented had the homeowner just been a little more vigilant."
A KSAT news crew witnessed several garage doors left open with no one in sight in one neighborhood.
Resident Lee Boswell said he keeps his valuables locked up and keeps an eye on his neighbors who sometimes forget to secure their property.
"We make a habit of as much as we can to always keep it closed. We come in, we close it and lock it," Boswell said. "We try to watch it pretty good. If any strangers are in the neighborhood everyone talks."
That's the kind of vigilance Correu wants to hear more of.
"Most of these crimes are, you can walk in the backyard and they can come back around and it's that quick. So in less than a minute or two minutes, something can be removed from your garage," Correu said. "Something as simple as recognizing a car that's not supposed to be there can prevent a burglary from taking place."