Midlands community fighting back after cars stolen and broken into

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)-A Midlands community is fighting back after a lot of their cars were stolen and some broken into.

They held a neighborhood meeting with police on Monday night hoping to see some change.

Columbia Police say 9 cars were stolen this year and several others were broken into. Columbia police also say they’ve been tracking the criminal activity in the area.

The summer months have been the worst, but there have been 37 arrests so far,  many of them juveniles.

“The kids walking through the neighborhood jiggling doorknobs we rarely see glass broke, occasionally we do, but mainly its opportunities,” Chief Skip Holbrook said. “If a doors locked, they move on to the next car.”

At the meeting police and the people who live in Shandon opened a new line of communication.

They started a neighborhood crime watch to lookout for each other.

“I always advocate for more police officers. We have to strategically grow with our city,” Holbrook said. “We have to grow our budget and our department as our city continues to grow.”

Columbia police say the South region is the largest in the city. It has 62 officers staffed, but their goal is to get to 66.

Many in the community expressed their frustration with the lack of police presence, that’s where the public comes in.

“We’re encouraging being good nosey neighbors, keeping good lines of communication open, keeping lights one, bushes cut back, report suspicious activity and lock your cars,”Holbrook said.