ATLANTA -- A spokesman for the Fulton County court system confirms a female court manager became the victim of a car break-in early Tuesday morning. Among the items stolen were two security badges -- one which gave her access to the secure parking deck beneath the courthouse, and another that gave her access to secure areas inside the courthouse.

Court spokesman Don Plummer would not confirm reports that the woman’s laptop and a weapon were also stolen. Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Tracey Flanagan said both security badges were immediately deactivated.

Todd Ashley is an assistant district attorney for Fulton County. He’s been working downtown for nearly 20 years. He learned his lesson after becoming the victim of a car break-in several years ago. “Don’t leave anything visible in the car that you don’t want to give to somebody else,” he said.

Car break-ins are picking up in recent weeks all across metro Atlanta. “I have a lot of friends that actually got their car broken into,” said Georgia State University student Latasha Milliner.

A CBS Atlanta News crew was surprised to see how many people leave valuables in plain sight in their cars. One car parked on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Tuesday had cash clearly visible in the center console. Another had a Pocket PC in plain view.

“There’s broken glass on the street from time to time, where we can see cars have been broken into, and you just know,” said Ashley. “ You hate it for somebody, because you know they’re going to be missing something important.”

Fulton County officials declined to name the court manager who was victimized. So far, they said, no one has tried to use the stolen badges.