City of Pacific Grove sees uptick in car theft

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (KION) - Locking your car and homes may be a standard in many cities, but it hasn't always been that way in the small town of Pacific Grove. Neighbors there are now taking extra precautions after an uptick in car thefts and property damage.

"Locking our car, keeping the keys in the house. Locking the house," said Patrick Carrol of Pacific Grove.

It's a step people admit they didn't consider before, because they always thought the small town was safe.

Safe enough to even leave their homes unlocked.

"They always leave their doors open. A lot of people leave, their doors open, their house doors open," said Pamela Carrol who lives in Pacific Grove.

According to the Pacific Grove Police Department, there have been multiple car burglaries since the start of the year.

KION is checking on the exact numbers, but we do know of one high-profile incident where a car was stolen from Pacific Grove and used in a shooting in King City that left four people dead and 7 others hurt.

"We moved from the Bay Area to kind of avoid the crime and to see it kind of ticking up here is very disconcerting," said Francie Soito who lives in Pacific Grove.

The alarming amount of car theft and break-ins is driving them to take extra safety measures, such as leaving their porch lights on.

The city has installed flock safety cameras to help with fight crime and track stolen vehicles.

There are 12 of those around the city that have led to arrests.