If you have an iPhone or any other type of smart phone or laptop, keep in mind that a thief will pounce at any opportunity to take it.

At a coffee shop, bar or even waiting at an intersection to cross the street can be windows of opportunity for a thief looking for those items, Atlanta Police Department Lt. D. Brent Schierbaum told members of the Inman Park Neighborhood Association Wednesday night.

Motor vehicle larcenies are another challenge, he said.

"The closer you live to Little Five Points, the more likely you could be a victim that," Schierbaum said. "The best thing that can be done to prevent being a victim car break-ins is to remove items from your car."

In general, he said anytime something seems suspicious or out of the ordinary, call the police, he advised.

Case in point: Last week, a serial burglar was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was thwarted  after an April 24 arrest stemming from a watchful resident who noticed him pulling into a neighbor's driveway.

The burglar took off, but not before the resident got the license plate leading to the subsequent arrest.