For the second week in a row I've been at a local park with Brett when a vehicle was broken into and a purse snatched.
The first time it happened we were at Imperial Point Park; the second time Bayview Park. Anyone who is familiar with these parks knows they are in nice neighborhoods; Bayview Park is in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale. Imperial Point park is on hospital property, fenced in with security checkpoints blocking all but one exit route.
On both occassions the purses were stolen from locked vehicles but the purse was in plain view. Both robberies occured at dusk. There were tons of people around (all ostensibly watching their kids). I can't find anything about a rise in this type of crime or in references to this type of crime in the local media, but the fact that it has happened with such freqency relative to my park visits makes me a little concerned. I also have noticed the police have recently placed mobile billbords within 100 yards or so of both locations warning people to not leave valuables in plain sight. (Oh, and I should mention that in both these cases the police didn't show up for at least an hour after the crime was called in).
I don't think there is cause for panic, but let this be a warning: don't leave your valuables in plain sight when parking at parks, no matter how safe they appear!
