DeKalb | Two men suspected in connection with several automobile burglaries in the DeKalb area were arrested early Wednesday, said DeKalb Police Lt. Gary Spangler.

Spangler said Quintin Robinson, 21, of DeKalb, and Jesse Dille, 20, of Hinckley, were arrested and charged with burglary to an automobile. Spangler said Dille and Robinson were observed in the 1000 block of South First Street at about 1:10 a.m. attempting to open the doors of various vehicles.

Spangler said the two men have admitted to breaking into dozens of cars, but police are unsure of the exact number.

Figures provided by the DeKalb Police Department state that from July 2010 to July 2011, there have been 124 automobile burglaries in the DeKalb area. Additionally, over 20 automobiles were burglarized in NIU lot C2, the remote parking lot by the Convocation Center, on Aug. 25. Items were taken from several vehicles, one of which had its windshield broken out.

NIU Police Sgt. Alan Smith said the NIU Police Department is still investigating the incident in lot C2 and are processing evidence.

According to a Crime Stoppers press release, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and Sycamore Police Department have investigated approximately 28 burglaries in the northern part of Sycamore over the last six months. According to the release, items including cash, change and electronics have been taken from vehicles and residences.

Sycamore Police Sgt. Steven Cook said the Sycamore Police Department is currently investigating leads and interviewing people in relation to recent burglaries.

“We’ve had more burglaries this year than we normally do,”

Cook said.

Spangler said the investigative process for automobile burglaries is very similar to how the police investigate residential burglaries.

“Initially, the officer will look for fingerprints or anything they can process inside the vehicle,” Spangler said. “The officer will try to locate any witnesses and obtain a description of the suspect if possible.”

Spangler said police will also look at what was taken from a vehicle and determine if it can be tracked or traced.

“Certain items are harder to track than others,” Spangler said.

Spangler said the best way for people to protect their valuables is to be sure not to leave anything in plain view inside the vehicle. However, this may not prevent people from breaking into a vehicle anyway.

“Car alarms are a good deterrent,” Spangler said.

Smith said NIU Police encourage people to lock their car doors and keep their windows up, as well as keeping valuables out of sight if they must be left inside a vehicle. Often these types of burglaries are crimes of opportunity, he said.

“If we remove the element of opportunity, it significantly reduces crime,” Smith said.

Smith said NIU Police constantly patrol campus parking lots and are performing more lot checks and have an increased presence in light of recent burglaries.

Spangler said the number of automobile burglaries may fluctuate, though sometimes a trend may

be observed.

“Sometimes it will be sporadic, other times we will get a lot in one night,” Spangler said. “Usually, there are several different people out there doing it.”

If a trend is identified, police will attempt to connect the dots in order to identify a suspect, Spangler said.

Cook said although these types of crimes tend to run in streaks, he has no reason to believe that recent burglaries at NIU are connected to the burglaries in Sycamore.

“If they’re in the same area and at the same time, it may be the same suspect,” Cook said.

“Sometimes we are able to clear several cases at once,” Spangler said.

Many burglaries to automobiles go unsolved, Spangler said.

“The majority of car burglary cases are closed due to a lack of evidence,” he said. “A lot of the time, there isn’t a lot of evidence left behind.”