SHERIFF'S OFFICE- Partners in Crime Prevention Newsletter

This March/April issue of the "Partner's in Crime Prevention" newsletter from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office talks about juvenile crime and support issues:

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/MarApr12.pdf

SULTAN- Crime Prevention Meeting

On Wednesday, March 21, the city of Sultan held a community safety meeting.

In it, city officials encouraged the participants to form Neighborhood Watch Groups. They also encouraged people to give their names when calling 911. Having a name ensures that information given to the police is not second hand or rumors. Chief Jeff Brand also noted that three-quarters of home burglaries around Sultan involve unlocked doors or windows.

For more information about this meeting go to:

http://heraldnet.com/article/20120323/NEWS01/703239893/1131/NEWS08#Sky-Valley-neighbors-learn-tips-to-fight-crime

SOUTH SOUND- Car Prowls Up

According to a recent news report by KING 5 TV, car thefts and car prowls are up in the South Puget Sound region. Police agencies in Snohomish County have not made any announcements about car prowl levels recently.

In Puyallup, the car thieves and car prowlers target strip mall parking lots, gyms and apartment complexes. On bicycles and wearing backpacks, they will scope out cars, break into a promisng target, then quickly ride away. Many are not breaking windows, but are using "jiggler" keys to enter the cars. Top targets are older model Hondas and Acuras.

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/tacoma/Car-prowls--thefts-spike-in-South-Sound-143806656.html

To avoid becoming a car prowl victim remove everything from view in your car! For more information on car prowl prevention take a look at this Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Tip Sheet:

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Vehicle%20Prowl.pdf

To prevent your car from being stolen, be sure to lock your car and take your keys with you. Also, devices such as The Club on your steering wheel can help deter potential car thieves. This Tip Sheet gives more ideas to prevent your car from being stolen:

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Auto%20Theft.pdf

BURGLARIES- Burglaries Can Be Dangerous

Burglaries can be dangerous for the burglar. The burglar can face an irate homeowner who does not like strangers in their house. As a result the burglar can risk arrest and/or physical harm. The ideal for the burlgar is not to have anyone around when he/she enters the house. In our modern age, the best time is during the day to enter a house when both the man and the woman are most likely at work and their kids are at school. So, as burglars goes down the street, they have to determine which house has the least risk. Which house does not have anyone around. So, when they decide on a target house, knocking on the door makes sense. If someone shows up, make an excuse then go to the next target. If not, enter the house.

If the burglar miscalculates it can be bad for both the burglar and the victim. The local press has reported on two burglaries where the victims were hurt or came close to being hurt.

In Tacoma a woman heard noises in her home and saw a man with a bag run away. She chased after him. The burglar fired one or two shots at her from a gun. The burglar was arrested later in the day.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/surprised-burglar-opens-fire-tacoma-homeowner/nLY3Y/

Earlier in the month, in Burien, an 80 year old homeowner came home to find two burglars in his home. They struck him in a brief confrontation. One of the burglars was arrested by police.

      Police dog finds burglary suspect:

http://today.seattletimes.com/2012/03/suspected-burglar-caught-by-k-9-dog-in-burien/

http://burien.komonews.com/news/crime/728845-man-injured-after-coming-home-burglary-progress

While circumstances can be different, recent meetings held by local police agencies have recommended the following:
If you come home and the door is ajar or you think a stranger is in your home-

• Don’t go in! Stay outside!
• Call 911 immediately. This will become a priority call.
• Don’t confront the burglar. Burglars do not want to be caught. They can hurt you trying to get away.

If you are home and you hear an unexpected knock at the door- This is often a quandary for citizens. Do you go to the door or do you run and hide? Burglars often will go to a target house and knock on the door to see if someone answers. If someone does answer, they will make up a story (some better than others) that they are selling something, or they are looking for someone, or they need some sort of help. If no one answers, then they will try to kick in the front door or they will go to the back of house and break a window or enter through the sliding glass door. If you want to maximize your safety in this situation:

• Look through your peephole to see who it is.
• If you don’t recognize them, yell through the door that you are not interested. If the person outside refuses to leave or gets surly, tell them to leave and that you are calling 911.
• Noisy alarms usually cause burglars to leave. If the person on the other side continues to not leave, press the panic button on your car’s key fob. That makes the horn or other alarm sound from your car. That should convince the person to leave. It also helps alert any neighbors who may be around that you need help.
• Call 911 and report what happened. A good description of the suspicious person on the other side of the door can be very helpful to deputies.

Single women- Make it look like a man is around. If someone that you do not recognize is at the door, come to the door with your phone in hand like you are talking to someone on the phone.

THE FALLS- Suspicious Activity

A resident of The Falls reports suspicious activity this morning, March 16, 2012. Around 7:30am the resident heard a knock at their door. When the husband answered the door, a woman in her 20’s with dirty-blond hair was standing there. She asked for a ride to her job in Everett because she missed her bus. The husband thought that this was very odd and declined to help. After this encounter, he reported the incident to 911.

Note: It is precisely activity like this that should raise your suspicions. Assuming the worst, this could have been someone checking to see if the house was empty. 7:30am does not meet the normal time for residential burglaries (normally between 10:00am to 3:00pm or 4:00pm, but, a burglar could always want to get an early start. The residents thought it was odd that someone would knock on a stranger’s door to ask for a ride when she could have used her cell phone to call someone she knew.

LYNNWOOD- Meeting on Burglary Prevention

Last night, (March 12), the Lynnwood Police Department hosted a meeting on burglary prevention with about 25 citizens in attendance. Shannon Sessions, Crime Prevention Specialist and Public Information Office for Lynnwood PD plus two property crime and burglary detectives emphasized several times that burglaries are up in Lynnwood and in the Puget Sound Region.

This chart shows total burglaries for 2011` compared to burglaries to date for 2012 in Lynnwood:

Burglary Type	Total for
	2011	2012 (YTD)
Residential	155	23
Commercial	79	10

Shannon Sessions started out with the following tips to prevent burglaries:

            • "use your 6th sense" when in your neighborhood. If something or someone seems out of place or suspicious call 911 and report it.

            • 911 (SNOCOM): The 911 agency that services Lynnwood PD is called SNOCOM. SNOCOM also services Brier, Edmonds, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Fire District 1 and Woodway.

                        ○ Its best to call 911 from a landline if you can. This is because with Enhanced 911, the call taker will have your address displayed on their display. The call taker may ask you for your address, but this is to verify that their display is correct.

                        ○ Cell phones: 911 does not necessarily have a GPS position on your cell phone. Be sure to know where you are before you call 911 using your cell/smart phone.

            • Call 911 if you are broken into, even if "there was little damage" or "nothing was stolen."

             • Operation ID- Don't use your Washington State Driver’s License number for engraving certain valuables. For many years, Crime Prevention Officers have recommended engraving the driver’s license number on valuables (like tools and electronics). This allowed police agencies to look up the owner if they came across stolen property and had no reports on file of who the rightful owner is. Apparently, burglars have been using the number in ID theft. The detectives recommended that now, you make up your own unique code or sign and document that code in your household inventory. Note: NEVER engrave your Social Security Number on anything. Police agencies do not have access to your name through your Social Security Number, but ID thieves would be able to use your Social Security Number.

.            • Burglars are taking jewelry. Take photos of your jewelry!

            • Alarms do help, especially alarms that make noise.

            • Single women- Make it look like a man is around. If someone that you do not recognize is at the door, come to the door like you are on the phone.

            • Motion sensor lights- Place them where you can observe them. This way, if they go off at night, you can take a look at what is going on outside.

            • Install a dead bolt lock in the door between your garage and your house. Thieves have been known to take garage door openers out of vehicles parked outside of a house, opening the garage door then entering the house.

The detectives talked about how burglars work and the Lynnwood PD’s response to burglary calls:

MO- Most burglars do not research their targets for several days. 1 to 3 burglars may work a neighborhood. They may leave their car within a block or two of their target neighborhood. They will walk in the neighborhood looking for targets of opportunity. One burglar will choose a house then knock on the door to see if anyone answers. If there is an answer, the burglar might say "Does Jeff live here?" or “I need gas” (and the less prepared will not have a gas can). If you answer the door to one of these suspicious people, call 911immediately with a description.

If there is no answer, the burglar may try to kick down the front door (here is where your dead bolt and the 3 inch or longer screws become important) or go to the back of your house to enter through your sliding glass door (got your Charlie Bar installed?).

The burglar is in the house for just a few minutes. He/she will take jewelry (most popular now) cash, guns and portable electronics.

Lynnwood Police response- When the police department receives a call that a burglary is in progress, it comes running to the scene with all available units.

When it receives a “cold” burglary report, it is still interested in the information. A cold burglary is where you come home to discover that your home has been burglarized but you do not know who did it or when it happened. The detectives emphasized that they are still interested in any information that you can provide. Especially, as detailed information as possible about what was stolen. While this information may not help you to see your burglar arrested, it may help another victim and it may help to recover your property.

If you live within the Lynnwood city limits and have questions about burglary prevention, contact Shannon Sessions at ssessions@ci.lynnwood.wa.us.

SEATTLE- Burglary Sting

The Seattle Police Department announced a year long sting to collect stolen property and develop cases against the most prolific burglars in Seattle. For more information about this operation take a look at the following links:

Sting

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Year-long-sting-operation-nets-police-stolen-guns-cars-and-explosives-141686203.html?tab=video&c=y

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017674675_fencing06m.html

The Seattle PD has also posted 437 photos of stolen items collected by the sting. Even if you do not live in Seattle, it might be worthwhile to take a look at them if you have been burglarized. Stolen property can travel a long distance.

To see the photos go to:

Photos

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017681795_spdsting07m.html