Thieves break into cars at Date Festival parking lot

Tens of thousands of people visit the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival each day. The popular attraction can be a draw not just for fair-goers, but crooks too.

A person reached out to News Channel 3 on Facebook, saying they saw at least 10 cars get broken into in the parking lot. It is not clear at this time if a suspect or suspects have been detained.

According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Mike Vazquez, there were “just shy of 10” listed reports of the break-ins. Vazquez said there may have been additional instances reported to security.

“We definitely had security on site that night,” said Veronica Casper, Date Festival fair manager.

Casper couldn’t confirm how many cars were broken into but says the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.

“We’ve upped the security in that parking lot, so we’ve re-evaluated,” Casper said.

Casper is asking guests to do their part.

“You have to make sure that you’re locking your car, that you’re taking your valuable. You cannot leave anything inside, it’s just, unfortunately, things like this happen everywhere,” Casper said.

Casper says additionally, they’ve increased security throughout the grounds.

“At any given time we have more security and officers on site than you do at any given city,” Casper said.

Guests we spoke with at the fairgrounds said they have seen a lot of security and feel safe.