SAN DIEGO — People living at one Mission Valley apartment say they’re fed up with the blatant theft that’s happening in what’s supposed to be a secured building.
Ring camera video shows thieves gaining easy access to secured residential floors of an apartment complex in Mission Valley. In one video, they're seen walking away with bags full of stolen packages and mail.
“Several of my neighbor’s have been hit by this and affected," said one resident.
The couple who shared the video with CBS 8 didn’t want to go on camera but say thieves have broken into at least half a dozen storage units too.
"There’s a lot of units that have been broken into," they said.
The couple says theft in their building has reached a level they’ve never seen before.
“Once they start breaking into individual lockers that are on secure floors and stuff it kind of turns into 'well, what's next, when are they going to start breaking into people's homes, breaking into apartments,'" he questioned.
Both say theft has become more widespread in recent weeks. Several other buildings in the area have also been targeted, the couple says.
“I’m hearing it everywhere, on the neighborhood apps and stuff in San Diego ... I'm seeing it much more frequently," she said.
In this case, thieves were able to gain access to secured floors without a key after the key system at the complex was down. The couple alerted management, who have since taken steps to fix the issue.
However, they believe it's too late because the thieves already know how to get around the inside of the building. They fear the people committing these crimes will soon find other ways to get inside.
“The easy stuff to do is to tailgate someone into your building or to act like you know somebody there. Apartments need to start taking more measures for security whether that be more restricted access on the floors or better cameras systems so they can start recording this stuff to the police," they added.
The couple tried reporting the incident to police by calling the non-emergency line, but were unable to reach anyone. Online, the San Diego Police says "residential burglaries" or "theft from a building" are not crimes that can be reported online.
In a statement, San Diego Police Lt. Daniel Meyer says:
"Calling the non-emergency line is the appropriate way to contact SDPD and report a cold (not occurring now or recently) burglary."
"The San Diego Police Department is dedicated to reducing criminal activity in all categories, including all theft-related crimes. We continue to work hard to investigate these cases and assist with their prosecution when appropriate if and when we can develop probable cause based upon available evidence. Prosecution of these crimes are the responsibility of the City Attorney’s Office (misdemeanors) and the District Attorney’s Office (felonies). We encourage anyone who has been victimized to report these crimes to the police. The public can assist us by preserving any possible evidence that may be left at the scene."
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