The Associated Press
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) -- Santa Fe police have been using an undercover operation at area malls and shopping centers to crack down on would-be auto burglars during the holiday season.
Using decoy cars with various merchandise left in plain sight, officers wait for would-be thieves to take the bait. Then police arrest the suspected burglars.
Between Thanksgiving and Dec. 19, the department made 20 arrests as part of the operation.
Would-be burglars have apparently taken notice. Since news of the sting broke last week, police have made no arrests related to the undercover operation.
“I guess they’re reading the paper,” Police Chief Beverly Lennen said.
The operation’s success was determined by both the number of arrests made and the deterrent effect of publicizing the sting, Lennen said.
Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson said one or more people linked to other previously unsolved burglaries around the city were among those arrested in the department’s holiday operation.
Police plan to continue such undercover operations after the holidays.