Cobb Police warning anyone who has a car to clean it out and lock it up

COBB COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Cobb County Police are seeing it way too much: crooks stealing from cars. They'll be holding a community meeting Wednesday night to talk about what they consider a spike in thefts from autos.

Alicia Britt was furious when she realized someone had gotten into her fire red Camaro that was parked in her driveway in West Cobb and rummaged through it.

"I was so mad! I love my car. I just got it and I felt so victimized that someone just came in and tried to take over what was mine," said Britt.

Cobb County Police are just as concerned. Over the past several weeks, they said they've seen a lot more of this type of crime concentrated in west Cobb County.

"Definitely an uptick in entering autos in west Cobb area, it happens everywhere, but definitely west Cobb," said Cobb County Police Officer Sydney Melton.

Investigators said in many cases, thieves are going through neighborhoods flipping door handles until they find one that's unlocked. Police said those make up the majority of the cases, but at the West Cobb Aquatic Center, crooks punched the locks to get inside several vehicles.

Police said the best thing you can do is clean out your car.

"We want to make sure your valuables aren't left in the open, and always weapons, we want those taken out of vehicles," said Officer Melton.

The community meeting with police is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the McEachern United Methodist Church 4075 Macland Rd in Powder Springs.