ROCK HILL, SC (WBTV) - When you have a lot of extra junk lying around that you just can get rid of there are plenty of storage facilities in the area to take it to.
However, police say crooks have broken into 26 storage units off Linwood Drive in Gastonia last week.
Gastonia Police say they are looking for three suspects.
Storage units thefts have seen an increase across the river in Charlotte. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say they are up 14-percent since last year. Police say business owners need to invest in better security.
"People store their stuff they expect it to be safe they expect to be able to come back and get it when they need it and when they go and everything's gone something's taken that's valuable that's not a good thing," said Sharon Jones at Cherry Road Self Storage in Rock Hill.
Sharon Jones at Cherry Road Self storage has been in business for 15 years and has never had a break in. Rock Hill police and the York County Sheriff say they haven't seen any increase or recent storage unit break-ins.
Jones says there's a reason her facility is secure.
She says when you're looking for a place to store your stuff think about layers of protection. The first layer is pretty simple; make sure your storage unit is surrounded by a fence.
Next, make sure you find a storage place that has security cameras that can keep eyes on anybody coming entering or leaving the facility.
Also make sure you get a good strong lock.
Big locks, little locks, two or three locks, the standard locks can be cut with a pair of bolt cutters that's why Jones recommends using Disk locks.
"You can't cut the (disk lock) with a cutter you have to grind it off and it takes 30 minutes to grind it off," said Jones.
Also Jones says if you find storage facility with 24 hour access may not be a good thing.
"Because that means anybody can come and go 24 hours," said Jones.
Jones says cheaper is not always better, you're not just paying for the unit you're paying for security.
"Just to know your stuff is going to be there when you need it," said Jones.
Jones also says don't let anyone have a copy of your lock key. Some storage facilities will ask for a copy, she says that's not a good sign.
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