The Westbrook Police Department will be stepping up its patrol of neighborhoods and business districts this spring in order to prevent motor vehicle burglaries.

According to police, along with the warmer weather comes more car break-ins. Though the department plans to add foot patrols, bike patrols, remote cameras and bait cars in order to deter and catch criminals, residents can also help themselves by taking certain precautions.

Police remind citizens to make sure to lock their cars, keep them in parked garages and use motion-sensitive lights in their driveways. They recommend not leaving valuables inside cars, if possible, and if not, to make sure the valuables are not visible from the outside.

In 2007, Westbrook Police investigated nearly 100 motor vehicle burglaries.