Police in Bridgeport are asking for the public's help in solving a string of car thefts, one of which was captured on video.

The most recent theft took place in the driveway of a house on the 200 block of Pacific Street.

The victim's mother tells News 12 Connecticut that he parked his vehicle in the driveway and left it running as he went inside the house for a few moments. During that time, someone got in the car and drove away.

According to police, there's been an uptick in car thefts on the west side of the city.

Surveillance video shows a slender man in a hooded sweatshirt walking calmly by the house, noticing the vehicle in the driveway has been left unlocked and running. The man then doubles back, gets in and calmly drives away.

Officials say thefts associated with cars left running only account for part of the overall problem in Bridgeport, with many more involving actual break-ins.

This was the third car theft on Pacific Street in the past few days.

Police say part of the uptick is related to hot summer weather.

"In the winter time, people want to keep their cars nice and warm so they turn their cars on, and they leave it unlocked, in this case it's the opposite," says Chief AJ Perez. "They want to keep the cars nice and cool and want to get back in the car, the air conditioner is on, and they just want to go.  This is the result of doing something like that. You can't do it."

According to police, home surveillance cameras are actually a huge deterrent because thieves do not want to end up on TV.