The police knocked on junior Jaden Andrews’s front door on Nov. 13 at 3 a.m. They told his family there had been several stolen cars in their neighborhood and noticed the Andrews’s two-car garage was open, containing only one car. His family later discovered they were included in the group of car theft victims. Andrews had left the garage door open the previous afternoon, and his father left the car key on a hook in their garage, which was not where it is normally kept.

From January to August 2018, there was an average number of five car burglaries per month in Northbrook, according to a response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted to the Village of Northbrook. The monthly average more than doubled to 11 car burglaries from August to the end of the year.

According to Dean of Students William Eike, to his knowledge, there have been no incidents of strangers coming on to school property to burglarize vehicles within the past eight years.

“We will continue, as we always do, to try and patrol the lots to the best of our ability and keep an eye on students’ cars … as they come and go,” Eike said.

Junior Rahman Hemani said his mother’s car was stolen while being serviced at a local dealership. His family received a call one afternoon from the dealership reporting around 10 to 15 stolen cars. His mother’s car was included.

“My mom’s car was a favorite car in my house, so I was definitely upset and shocked because I’ve never heard of a dealership getting robbed,” said Hemani. “That’s only in movies, and I was curious as to how someone could pull off 15 cars at a time.”

Andrews said he feels Northbrook is a safe community. However, Andrews’s family has still taken preventative measures such as ensuring their cars are locked and installing an autonomous garage system.

Eike said all students should be cautious in the Glenbrook North parking lots by making sure valuables are out of sight.

“Or, if you don’t need to bring anything of value onto the campus, don’t do it, and always make sure your car is locked and secured,” Eike said.

Andrews said, “It was kind of alarming to see that even though we live in such a good community, this stuff still happens all the time. It is definitely a warning sign for me, of course, and for everyone else to make sure the doors are locked and the garages are closed. [It is] the simple things that you don’t think could affect you.”