At least nine recent victims of burglary likely would not have been victims if they had simply locked their vehicles, Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson said.

Hudson said APD members have been working to solve a rash of burglaries that occurred the week after Christmas in a neighborhood around Church Street.

“People need to lock their cars,” Hudson said “Nine of the 10 that were burglarized were not locked. You can’t do that anymore. The 10th burglary, they broke a window to get a purse.”

As it turned out, he said, a woman had changed purses in the car, and the stolen one was empty.

“What we’re encouraging people to do is lock your car no matter where you’re at,” Hudson said.

The APD recently made an arrest for burglaries that occurred in December at the sports complex on the South Bypass and at the Covington Arena.

Hudson also said it is believed that burglaries at Darby’s and at Mallette Drug were committed by people who have also staged burglaries at pharmacies in other towns.

“They hit a store in Milton, Fla., the same night,” he said “They used the same M.O.”