In a city the size of Saint Louis, police investigate car break-ins almost everyday. However, when several cars are broken into at once, the crime gets our attention.

A viewer emailed us about a number of break-ins that happened on Friday evening in the Norman K. Probstein golf course parking lot.

Police tell us a total of 6 cars were broken into around the same time. In other parts of the park, there were four other car break-ins - all reported between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The daylight and crowds at the park seem to draw thieves, not deter them.

You can get some perspective on this crime by comparing the crime summary statistics on the police department's website.

There is not a category for auto burglaries, but those crimes are usually filed under the burglary or larceny categories.

A city-wide statistic shows car break-ins are up by 3.1% when you compare the number of break-ins from January to June of 2009 to the same time period last year.

In other crime statistics in Saint Louis City:
(According to numbers the police department gathers for the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports)

Homicides are down by 30.2%

The number of robberies are up by 8.5%

Burglaries are down by 11.8%

Total crime is down by 5.7%

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