For the past several weeks now, the community has been plagued by vandals and burglars breaking into cars.

Not only are people breaking into cars, but sometimes they are smashing windows too. This week alone, there have been 28 car burglaries or vandalisms.

Add in the past few weeks and the total jumps to 53.

This needs to be stopped.

DeKalb police Sgt. Jim McDougall said police are doing everything they can to help put a stop to these crimes.

Helping matters is a retrieved a flashlight from one of the cars, likely belonging to the burglar, which will aid in the search.

We at the Northern Star have straddled this line ourselves. In reporting on the burglaries, we could be seen as giving undue publicity to obviously juvenile and costly criminals.

But we have kept updating the situation, in hopes that an increased awareness will help when police officers are stretched too thin.

Frankly, though, car burglars have touched upon a crime that’s nearly impossible to prevent. Parking lots can be found just outside the door or a good walk away (as gravel lot parkers certainly know).

And the crimes are committed quickly, with a short burst of noise. And before you know it, the vehicle’s just another statistic.

But the biggest aid in the search lies in our own hands. McDougall said the criminals probably aren’t going unnoticed, but it is just that people don’t realize that the criminals are breaking into the car.

Nightly casual vigilance, with maybe just a quick scan of the nearby parking lots, can act as the biggest deterrent. Because although there are thousands of cars on campus and in DeKalb, a criminal is but one person & creating odds in favor of capture.

If the community keeps its eyes peeled, these burglars and vandals can be caught, and maybe then no one will have to wake up in the morning to a broken window and missing CDs.