Raleigh police have been investigating seven burglaries in Brier Creek since April

Brier Creek residents are upset about the recent string of break-ins.

According to police, the number of burglaries at the beginning of the year is the highest since 2022.

According to the Raleigh Police Department, officers have investigated seven car break-in incidents since April 1. Police said the crimes happened near gyms in the Brier Creek area.

One of those victims, Amy Brown, said her car was broken into on May 6 while she was working out at Planet Fitness.

“As I was leaving, a lady I talk to a lot and another gentleman met me at the door and said, ‘I think your car was broken into.’ “I think they broke the glass on the door,” she said.

Brown said she was frustrated by the incident, adding that break-ins at the gym had been a problem.

“This has happened several times,” she said. “If I had had it on my radar I don’t know if it could have been prevented, but it wouldn’t have been such a shock.”

Brown said nothing was stolen from her car, but she said repairing the break-in cost her $300.

Cory Rippeto said he goes to the same Planet Fitness about three times a week and is worried.

“You can’t stop people from breaking in all the time,” he said.

The break-ins are part of a spike in burglaries earlier this year. Motor vehicle burglaries in the first four months of the year are the second highest in the past 10 years, with 1,045 reports from Jan. 1 to April 30, according to crime data from the Raleigh Police Department. In 2022, Raleigh Police reported 1,102 car break-ins during the same period.

Jason Borneo of the Raleigh Police Department said most people who break into cars try other methods before breaking windows.

“Those who break into vehicles try to open the handles,” he said. “If the door opens, they won’t take the time to break in by breaking the window. But when they see something valuable, they break the window and it only takes a few seconds to get in and out of the vehicle.”

Regarding the seven break-ins, Borneo said police did not know whether there was a connection between them.

“Whenever incidents of this nature occur that are similar in nature, location and motive, we will look at these relationships and identify the patterns,” he said.

Rippeto said he does what police recommend to keep valuables safe in cars, such as removing valuable items from his car and locking his doors. He hopes the gym will take additional measures to protect people’s belongings in the future.

“I hope that there are at least surveillance cameras in the area so that in the event of such an event, they can check and get information about how this happened,” he said.

WRAL News reached out to Planet Fitness, who issued the following statement:

“At Planet Fitness, the safety of our members and team members is our top priority and we take these matters very seriously. The local franchise owner is cooperating with police in their investigation. If you have any further questions, we will refer you to the local authorities.”