13 guns stolen from Clarksville vehicles in only 2 months, police urge locking doors

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Over the last two months, the Clarksville Police Department has responded to 99 reported stolen vehicles and 124 vehicle burglaries.

Since Jan. 1, there have been 13 firearms stolen out of these vehicles. The common denominator in a majority of these reports is that the vehicles were left unlocked and the keys or key fob was left inside the vehicle, and in some instances, the vehicle was left running and unoccupied.

The Clarksville Police Department continues to urge the public to “Park Smart:”

• Lock your vehicle.
• Secure your valuables (including firearms).
• Take your keys/key fob with you.
• Don’t leave your vehicle running and unattended.

Many of these crimes are deemed crimes of opportunity and involve juveniles. We have had numerous “car hoppers” going through subdivisions looking for unlocked vehicles.

Recently, the CPD has been involved with a repeat juvenile offender. On Dec. 21, a juvenile was arrested in Nashville and charged with theft of property when he was found in possession of a vehicle that had been reported stolen on Dec. 12 from Clarksville. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the same juvenile was arrested, this time in Clarksville, after being found in a vehicle that had just been reported stolen in Clarksville. In both cases, the vehicles were left unlocked and the key/key fob was left inside. The juvenile was initially transported to a juvenile detention facility in Rutherford County, but then released to his parents in Nashville.

“The cost to the taxpayers is staggering when you calculate the number of man-hours that Clarksville Police officers have spent taking reports, investigating and prosecuting these crimes, considering that a majority of these acts are preventable,” said Clarksville Chief of Police David Crockarell.

“Over the last year, we have repeatedly asked the citizens to lock their vehicles, and doing this greatly reduces their chances of being a victim. Additionally, the amount of time spent transporting juveniles to and from facilities outside of our jurisdiction continues to detract from the day-to-day operations of our officers.

“We continue to allocate resources and extra patrols in the affected areas and we urge the citizens to be vigilant and help us continue to make Clarksville a great place to work and live,” Crockarell said.