During the last two weeks, there has been an increase in reported vehicle break-ins in the Meadowland Drive area, Hillsborough police said Tuesday. 

Vehicles have been broken into at the Sportsplex, Brookshire Nursing Home and PHE, Inc. Police said they are "crimes of opportunity" in which car windows are smashed and anything of value is stolen. Several other car break-ins have also been reported at Hampton Pointe, at the Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

Police said this type of crime usually increases during the holiday season because people keep more valuables in their cars.

Lt. Davis Trimmer of the Hillsborough Police Department said thieves target any vehicle that has anything of value, such as purses, cell phones, GPS units, laptop computers, gifts or anything else in plain sight, police said. 

Trimmer reminds residents to remove all valuables from your vehicles when they are parked.

"It only takes a few seconds to break a window and grab your belongings," he said in a press release.

If you have any information about these reported incidents or any other crimes occurring in Hillsborough, please contact Lt. Davis Trimmer at the Hillsborough Police Department or by email at police.reports@hpdnc.org. For an immediate police response, please call 911.