Pit stop near Oakland Airport an auto break-in hot spot
OAKLAND -- One of the Bay Area's car break-in hot spots is in the parking lot of a shopping plaza popular with travelers heading in and out of Oakland International Airport.
Every time Beatriz Paz visits a shopping center in Oakland, she has to double-check that her car hasn't been attacked.
She said this Friday was her lucky day because "When you see a police officer, that gives you more confidence that nothing bad will happen to your car."
When the police are not at Oakland Airport Plaza, many cars are broken into. It's all captured by security cameras.
"One time I saw someone that, I think, was traveling and was pumping gas and someone tried to grab their purse and she ran to the store, super scared," Paz said.
A few signs on the wall warning customers about leaving valuables in their vehicles are reminders of how bad the situation has become. Barriers have also been installed.
Antonio Patino has been working here for two years. He said they installed the barriers to block one of the exits so thieves can't leave so quickly.
"Today, nothing is happening because the police are here, but from Monday to Thursday, the police are not here. You see five, six, seven, 10 -- all kinds of cars," Patino explained.
Many of them, he added, are visitors heading back to the airport.
"Only yesterday, six cars got broken into in less than 15 minutes. Two here, two there, and two at the gas station," Patino said.
The Oakland Police Department said they know how problematic this area is. To the point, an officer told KPIX off-camera that he was planning to stay there all day.
Mainly because it's Friday and the number of people heading to the airport increases.
"Sadly, some people that are visiting and don't know the area very well feel safe with their cars, but then someone shows up and breaks their windows, and it's sad because we live here and you think, wow poor people, they now take those bad experiences back home," Paz said.
Experiences that Patino wishes would just stop because he says he has witnessed too many of these crimes.