Tulsa Police Say Car Break-Ins Widespread, But Many Go Unreported

At least 300 times a month in Tulsa, someone has their car broken into. Victims are already frustrated to find their window broken and items gone. But their frustration only increases when they call 911 and are told an officer won't come out; they need to file their own report online.

Police are too busy with crimes in progress and violent crimes to take these reports and if victims don't bother, then there are no charges. The burglar could walk.

And when police recover stolen items, they can't get them back to the rightful owners. That's exactly what happened last weekend.

Car burglars are just waiting for the rest of us to leave our purses, GPS units, tools, cameras, and more in our vehicles.

"We've had a lot of guns taken, so we'd appreciate it if you'd take your gun in at night," said Tulsa Police Cpl Gene Watkins.

Two men broke into several vehicles in a south Tulsa parking lot Saturday night. Because a guy saw them do it and it was a crime in progress, police responded and arrested Houston Garrison and Logan Davis.

Police say the men admitted to breaking into 15 vehicles but only face a single charge, because only one victim filed a report.

"Think about it: in one night they did 15 cars. What could you do in a week of doing the same thing every night?" Watkins said.

When your car is broken into, you need to go to Tulsapolice.org and file a report. That helps police see clusters of activity, match up mo's to suspects and even get items back to their rightful owners.

They recovered items from this weekend, but have no way to return them without a victim's report.

"We read every report that comes through. We get 300 reports and we do read all of them," Watkins said.

They realize the damage to your car or the cost of the stolen items may come in under or just over your insurance deductible. But police say they still need you to file with them.

If your car was broken into between 51st and 61st Streets on South Lewis over the weekend, fill out a report online. If you can't go online, you can pick one up at any Quik Trip.