South Bend Police are reminding the community to remove or hide valuable items from vehicles and lock car doors to prevent becoming the victim of larceny.

There has been an increase in the number of larcenies reported in the past few months.

A lot of these were the result of unlocked vehicles. At this time, there is no information on who or how many people are responsible for these crimes.

The department is encourages everyone to document their valuable items on Report It through LeadsOnline. The online system that works with police across the country to track and recover stolen property.

SBPD uses LeadsOnline to help track and recover stolen property; everything from jewelry to sporting equipment to electronics, computers, cameras, and other items such as designer clothing, collectibles, and other items with invaluable personal worth.

The system allows detectives to search for the items using a variety of parameters, including item descriptions and serial numbers. When an item is sold to a pawn or secondhand shop, the product information is entered in the LeadsOnline database and is immediately viewable by participating law enforcement agencies across the country.

With information provided by LeadsOnline, police track down thieves, develop leads in numerous cases and make arrests. Citizens wanting to participate in eport It can register for the free service at reportit.leadsonline.com and begin building their ersonal property inventory list.

Anybody with information on these larcenies can contact South Bend Police at 574-235-9201 or Michiana Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.