Thieves targeting cars in Manito lots

Manito Park workers, neighbors and Spokane Police have been working together to stop a rash of vehicle burglaries within the park over the past few months.

Thieves have been targeting cars and trucks parked in lots within the park, and it doesn’t seem to matter whether they are hidden behind bushes or in the wide open.

“It’s usually people who leave things on the front seat,” said Manito Park Horticulture Supervisor Steve Nittolo.

Signs warn people to not leave valuables in their cars, but many believe that no one will break in within the short amount of time they are touring the gardens or that their cars are in visible places where they are safe.

That’s just not the case when the thieves can use tools to silently break windows and get into the cars within seconds, Nittolo said.

Since July, thieves have broken into more than three dozen vehicles parked in Manito Park.

“The police have been very helpful. They’ve stepped up their patrols,” Nittolo said, adding that at least one thief has been apprehended.

But while park thefts have slowed some, they continued in September.

Nittolo has been doing what he can to solve the problem, too.

Officials recently met with neighbors fronting the park to ask them to promptly report any crimes they witness.

Nittolo has also been selectively pruning in some locations to increase visibility and discourage thieves from hiding in the bushes or being emboldened because no one can see certain parking lots.

Now he’s looking into buying and installing surveillance cameras.

“I hope we have them up by next summer,” he said.