O
n February 7, the Snohomish
County Sheriff’s Office hosted a meeting on burglary prevention at Mariner High
School. Three property crime detectives talked to about 90 people. They covered
the extend of the burglary problem in south Snohomish County, a typical profile
of how burglars currently operate and suggestions on how to protect your home
and neighborhood from burglars.
The South Precinct is placing a
priority on burglary. The Sheriff’s Office personnel view burglary as the most
harmful crime to the most people. Burglary not only presents a loss to property
it also presents a risk to homeowners as witnessed in the two shootings of
suspected burglars since the first of the year.
Burglary Trends- During
the first half of 2011 burglaries were down compared to previous years.
However, starting in August, the Sheriff’s Office noted an increase in
burglaries for South County.
Statistics show that most reports
of burglaries in progress occur between 10am to 4pm Monday through Friday.
Most burglars, whom the Sheriff’s
Office knows about, work from Everett to Shoreline. More prolific burglars may
do three to five burglaries a day. A good burglar can get in and out of a house
in a matter of minutes.
What burglars look for when they
enter a house often changes over time. Currently, hot items for burglars are
jewelry, gold, silver dollars, etc. These items are often difficult to identify
as belonging to any one person and can easily be melted down by a buyer.
Preventing Burglaries-
Burglars look for houses that they think will give them the best opportunity
for a nice haul with as little risk as possible of getting caught. So, they
work during the daytime hours during the work week when most people are at work.
They also avoid neighborhoods that they think are “hot.” That is if they think
a neighborhood watches for suspicious activity and they see cops in the area,
they stay away.
So the best thing that you can do
to prevent crime is to “make your place less of an opportunity…” for the burglars.
The detectives mentioned several
times the importance of forming neighborhood watches. They want you to observe
your neighborhood and share information about suspicious activity with the
Sheriff’s Office and your neighbors. Many times “suspicious” is best defined by
you. You should be familiar enough with your neighborhood to know who or what
is out of place. The detectives suggested that a person with a bulging pillow
case or dragging a suitcase behind them walking down the street might be
suspicious.
Take steps to make your home
unattractive to burglars. You can use this checklist to help you decide what
needs to be done:
Keep your valuable jewelry (and
other valuables that can include cash, guns, important documents that have
account numbers, Social Security Numbers, etc.) in a big, heavy safe that you
have bolted to the floor. This way, burglars will have difficulty breaking in
and carrying the safe away to a place where they can take the time to open it. Also,
check with your insurance agent that your insurance covers expensive jewelry,
guns, expensive cameras, and other valuables.
Doors are not the only way that
burglars enter a home. They do smash windows and sliding glass doors. Apply a
safety and security film to your windows and doors with glass to prevent
burglars from entering your house. This 3M promotional web page shows you how
protective film works:
If you discover that your home has been burglarized- Victims of burglary frequently discover that they have
been victimized after they arrive home from work in the late afternoon or early
evening.
If you discover that your home has
been burglarized:
- Call 911.
Describe what happened and ask for contact with a deputy.
- Bring out your
household inventory (that listing with the serial numbers, descriptions,
and photos that you prepared a few months ago) to give to the deputy.
- Check your
home for what was stolen.
- Don’t touch
anything!!!!! Blood, cigarettes, finger prints, muddy foot prints, etc. can be evidence. When the deputy arrives
(and it could take a while depending on the number of calls that are ahead
of you) he or she can determine if any of this kind of evidence would be
helpful in an investigation.
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.
Sometimes people come home from
vacation or business trips to discover that they have been burglarized. In this
case, it may be more difficult to determine when the burglary happened. And it
may be more difficult to determine who did the burglary. “Burglaries in progress”
receive higher priority because there is a better chance to catch the burglar
in the act and the danger of harm to the victim is higher. But, you should
still call 911.
If “the scene” is “too cold” it
may be low on the priority list. The Sheriff’s Office may send you a mail in
report. Sheriff’s Office personnel do review these reports for information that
can help them catch burglars. Fill it out and return it! Include as much detail
as possible about your stolen possessions such as serial numbers, descriptions
photos, etc.; the kind of information that you gathered in your inventory. And include
possessions that you may not care about recovering along with those that you
might want returned. A good description of anything that was stolen from you
can help detectives catch a burglar.
You can also make an online report
at:
If you lost less than $1,499.99 you
can click on “File an Online Crime Report.”
If you lost between $1,500 and
$5,000 click on “Fill out the Community Based Report and mail in.”
If your loss is over $5,000 call
911 and ask to talk to a deputy.
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.
By taking some simple prevention measures,
being alert to suspicious activity and reporting it to 911 and reporting crime
when it happens, we, the citizens, and the Sheriff’s Office should be able to
reduce burglaries in our community.
