Police across South Jersey are warning drivers to lock their vehicles and remove their keys as groups of people continue to target unlocked cars in communities including Mount Laurel, Cherry Hill and Gloucester Township.

New video from Mount Laurel shows a group moving through a neighborhood in the middle of the night. The video shows people getting out of a vehicle, running in different directions and checking cars.

“It’s scary, it’s creepy. You don’t want—it’s an invasion. You don’t want no one in your stuff,” said Tina Stearn, who lives in the Mount Laurel neighborhood where the incident occurred.

Stearn said cars in the neighborhood had been ransacked.

“She had her car ransacked; she had her car ransacked. It’s a shame. You don’t feel safe,” Stearn said.

Similar incidents have been reported elsewhere in South Jersey. Video shared with NBC10 shows someone trying car door handles in Cherry Hill this past weekend, while Gloucester Township police said they have seen the same type of activity.

“They will get through a street in minutes with multiple both sides of the street just checking the doors,” said Lt. Paul Fisher of the Gloucester Township Police Department.

“It could be completely random. It’s not one specific area. It’s everywhere, every town,” Fisher said.

Gloucester Township police said four cars were reported stolen in the past week. All four were unlocked with the keys left inside.

“Hey, we're living in a good neighborhood, but don’t put your guard down,” said Gloucester Township resident Edwin Cintron.

Several surveillance cameras caught thieves trying car doors in a Cherry Hill neighborhood as they tried to steal from the parked vehicles. NBC10's Kelsey Kushner has the story. 

Gloucester Township police are among the South Jersey departments increasing patrols in response to the problem.

“We have plain clothes officers in the area, we have cameras in the area, we have multiple shifts doing extra patrols,” Fisher said.

“Keep your key fobs inside, lock your cars at night. That should prevent most of this from happening,” Fisher said.

Mount Laurel police are offering similar advice. Police there said that after an uptick at the beginning of the year, the number of incidents has decreased.

So far in September, four cars have been reported stolen in Mount Laurel, police said. Three had keys inside, and all four vehicles have since been recovered.

“I would like for it stop. It’s not the first time. I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it shouldn’t be as frequent,” Stearn said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.