Be alert and beware; the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is warning people about a few hundred burglaries to storage units county-wide that have been occurring since February.
Tuesday morning deputies released still images captured by surveillance cameras at the Public Storage near Okeechobee Boulevard and Military Trail.
On April 27, suspects broke into the storage facility, taking valuable items. According to investigators, 15 units were burglarized. The Sheriff’s Office would not elaborate further since the investigation is ongoing.
Officials with Pubic Storage declined to comment.
The theft was the most recent in the string of burglaries. All of them were at indoor storage facilities and they happened between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.
At Regency Storage, manager Sandra Farber-Williams says it’s all about safety.
“It’s vault like in here,” Farber-Williams said. ”Nobody has ever broken in.”
PBSO warns people to store their items at facilities with good working cameras. Once you find a safe place, deputies say you should buy a round lock since it prevents the lock from being cut.
Depending on the language of your storage unit contract, in case of a break-in, you might be stuck with the loss.
“We do have insurance that covers the building and any unusual happenings, or weather or things like that. But the items are covered by their own homeowners insurance,” Farber-Williams said.
If you’re not a homeowner it might be worth checking into a separate insurance policy. Keep in mind, not every item that’s valuable to you has actual value.
“Some of the times, the items put into a storage unit don’t even qualify for insurance,” Farber-Williams said.
Also, if you can, make sure to lock up high-value items like jewelry, weapons and ammunition somewhere else.
“You should invest in a good lock,” Farber-Williams said.
Public Storage recommends their customers buy a disc padlock. Experts say general padlocks are easily picked by amateur thieves.
Know anything about these crimes, call Crimestoppers (800) 458-TIPS.
