BAY MINETTE, Ala. — While other crime statistics are down in Bay Minette, city police report an increase in unlawful breaking and entering of vehicles.

According to Bay Minette Police Department records, 10 vehicle break-ins occurred in roughly the last two weeks.

Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland said during a telephone interview that no arrests have been made on the incidents, but the department is considering several suspects.

“Every year during summertime, police departments experience an increase in juvenile crimes,” he in an interview. “They (juveniles) don’t have to go to school the next day and don’t have any other activities going on at night.”

That’s when the break-ins occur, Rowland explained.

“It’s been at night time, no specific location,” he said. “It’s been happening city-wide.”

According to Rowland, such incidents have increased throughout the county, spurring the police department to partner with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office in a “Lock it or Lose it” campaign.

“This has been a pretty good spike in crime,” he said, pointing out his hopes that the incidents will stop with the start of school. “We think that this will subside on its own.”

To prevent possible break-ins, Rowland suggested Bay Minette residents “lock cars when (they) get out of them at night  because out of two or three cars parked in a driveway, only the unlocked ones have been broken into.”