(Murfreesboro, TN) The holiday season is giving way to a number of crimes, with some of the most common cases worked by Murfreesboro Police being shoplifting, vehicle break-ins and domestic assault.

There have been 406 reports filed in Murfreesboro over the past 76 days that cover the categories of shoplifting, theft and fraud. Of that number, some of the cases involved thieves helping themselves to $500 worth of merchandise or more – and simply walking out of a store, getting into a car and driving away. Many of the shoplifter’s getaway, but are captured on camera. While being recorded on camera doesn’t equal an arrest that day, suspects are usually caught on cameras in other stores and eventually tracked down.

Between the dates of October 1 and December 15, there were 90 reports of vehicle break-ins reported in Murfreesboro. A lot of the vehicles that were broken into were parked in areas of shopping centers, but just as many were parked in neighborhoods. A lot of times, thieves have it easy because people leave their cars and trucks unlocked, which is a big mistake because many criminals are looking for simplicity that doesn’t involve shattering a window, which would attract attention. There have also been 30-vehicle thefts reported in the ‘Boro between October 1st and December 15th. Again, many of the cars that were stolen were left unlocked and actually had the keys in them, or the vehicle was left running.

In nearby Nashville the problem is much more severe. There, over 500 vehicle break-ins have been reported in the past 28-days. Adding to the criminal element of additional problems created by vehicle break-ins are guns that people leave unattended in their car or truck. So far this year, 1,326 guns have been stolen from vehicles in Music City. According to Metro Police calculations, that means that more than 70% of ALL guns reported stolen this year in Nashville (a total of 1,861 gun thefts reported so far) were taken from vehicles. Just last week in the Davidson County area, 21 guns were stolen from cars and trucks, many of which were left UNLOCKED. That said, if you plan to holiday shop in Music City, make sure you lock your car or truck.

Now, back to Murfreesboro… In the category of assault, tempers are evidently on fire right now. There were 463 assaults reported between October 1st and December 15th in Murfreesboro. Domestic assault cases rise to the top in those numbers and domestic assault is one of the most common cases worked by MPD, especially during the holidays. Coming in second would be the number of assaults between acquaintances or friends. Sadly, there have also been several assaults against children where a child was physically harmed. The majority of assault cases that involve the injury of a child involve a family member, often a parent.