The Wellesley Police Department says the town has experienced a recent increase in vehicle thefts from driveways. In the past month, more than five cars have been stolen, with three in the past week.

In all of these cases, the cars were taken from residential driveways at night. The cars were unlocked, and the keys were inside.

According to the Wellesley Police Department, the car thefts are occurring between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. but aren’t reported until the following morning.

In a recent case, WPD Officers encountered two stolen cars driving on Garden Road at 12:40 a.m. The cars had just been stolen from Arnold Road. Neither vehicle had been reported as stolen. Officers were responding to a call for suspicious activity in another neighborhood when they encountered the cars.

The operators of both cars tried to elude WPD. One suspect fled on foot after striking a fire hydrant, and officers discontinued pursuit of the second car for safety reasons as it entered Newton and was driving extremely recklessly.

Our pal Adam at Universal Hub also took note of this announcement (“The town where people leave their keys in their unlocked cars”).

More: Wellesley Police log (February 2023)