Newtown Police seek suspect in connection with credit card theft
NEWTOWN, Pa. - Police in Bucks County are looking for a thief, they say, broke into unlocked vehicles as the owners watched their kids play at a local park.
Newtown Township Police are calling it a crime of opportunity.
As parents cheered their kids to victory outside Newtown Middle School last week, police say a man had his own prize in mind – credit cards. He allegedly went from car to car, opening unlocked doors, swiping several cards and then used them.
A reminder that as life picks back up, so, too, does crime.
“Crime follows people,” remarked Doctor David Abrams.
Dr. Abrams, is a public policy professor at University of Pennsylvania, who has been studying how crime patterns have changed since the pandemic began.
“Generally, crime is still down substantially compared to where it would be at the same time of year over the last five years,” Dr. Abrams stated.
He says, except for the most violent crimes – homicides and shootings, which are up substantially in big cities – criminals have had fewer opportunities to commit crimes against people who aren’t there, as many people have locked themselves at home.
“People are out more, they’re going to bigger events. That means crime that’s associated with those kinds of things are going to tick back up,” Dr. Abrams explained.
Which means one must have their guard back up, as well. Remember to lock those doors, for starters.
As one woman admitted, “I’m always making sure that everything is out of sight when I leave my car. And, although I did, when you said that, I thought, ‘Did I lock my car, where is my wallet?’”
The country is living in tough times. As concerns for health have been, understandably paramount, police urge citizens to not forget about safety.
“Everyone being isolated, you just don’t know what people are thinking. So, I’m always on alert and I really don’t feel as safe as I used to,” Newtown resident Jennifer Kuttner said.
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