AMHERST, N.Y. — Part of living in Amherst is feeling a sense of security.
Back in 2020, a study named Amherst the 14th-safest mid-sized city in America with a crime rate of 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
But recently, residents have felt that security is lost.
Amherst Police have responded to 46 reports of cars being broken into just within the last two weeks alone.
Nancy Fletch’s Cadillac was one of them. She said it happened in the middle of the day after she left her car outside a friend’s house unlocked for no more than an hour.
“You just never feel uncomfortable leaving your house or going out in public or leaving your vehicle,” she said of Amherst.
When she returned, she found someone had gone through it.
“Everything in my console was taken apart,” she said. “A couple of things in my back pocket. It definitely looked like somebody was searching for something.”
2 On Your Side has made numerous attempts to sit down with Amherst police about the problem for the past three days but has been unable to schedule an interview.
The department, however, acknowledged the break-ins in a post on X Tuesday, saying that all of the incidents have involved an unlocked vehicle, and reminding folks to lock their cars. They also said that these break-ins are often happening when thieves are entering open garages during the day.
“I don't know what else can be done,” Fletch said. “I really trust our Amherst Police Department. But what is causing this?”
Until they find that answer, residents like Fletch are still shaken over such a high volume of break-ins in such a short period of time.
“I believe it's still a safe area,” she said. “I feel it's a great area. But somehow we’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”