JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's online crime mapping system, there were 913 reported car burglaries in Jacksonville during the first three months of 2012.
Four ZIP codes each reported more than 60 car burglaries between Jan. 1 and March 31.
- 32218 on the Northside near JIA and the Oceanway Community: 62 car burglaries
- 32246 on the Southside near Hodges Boulevard: 67 car burglaries
- 32244 in Ortega near the Timuquana Country Club: 77 car burglaries
- 32210 on the Westside between NAS Jax and the Herlong Airport: 79 car burglaries
MORE ONLINE: Look up crime statistics in your neighborhood
"You're never going to just absolutely prevent somebody from breaking in to your car," Greg DiFranza said.
DiFranza is a former JSO officer and now a law enforcement instructor and consultant. He says many car break-ins aren't break-ins at all. Greg DiFranza says many car break-ins aren't break-ins at all
"I am going to guarantee you [looking around the parking lot] you're going to find a number of cars that they didn't even bother to lock," DiFranza said.
DiFranza said a thief will pick a neighborhood or shopping mall parking lot and go from car to car looking for unlocked doors.
"If you leave [your door] open, they don't have to try at all," DiFranza said.
If you're car is locked, experts say the next option may be a smash and grab.
"It can happen in a matter of seconds," Channel 4 Crime Expert Ken Jefferson said. "I've written many reports over the years as a police officer where cars have been broken into by force, [someone] breaking the glass, and no one heard a thing."
Our crime experts warn drivers to hide things they leave in your car. If your car is nice it may be broken into anyway, but DiFranza says the last thing you want to do is give a burglar an incentive to break in.
"Companies spend a lot of money configuring the inside of cars for storage compartments. Use those. If you're going to leave something in your car, put it out of sight," DiFranza said.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office crime racking map,
there were 367 car burglaries in Duval County in the past 30 years.
Hotest ZIP codes for car break-ins
Reported car burglaries in Jacksonville by ZIP code between Jan. 1 to March 31, 2012:
| 32073 - 0 | 32217 - 9 | 32233 - 7 |