This morning, my work day began with two burglaries and a theft of mail call. These calls are a bummer, firstly because hard working citizens have lost their property, as well as their sense of security. Secondly they’re a bummer because the majority of these cases will likely go unsolved. If we lived in television land, every crime would end with a fingerprint (easily run through the national database within seconds), an arrest, and either a witty or thought provoking end.
There are a few reasons that burglars are successful and a few things that we can do to make it more difficult for them. As a law enforcement officer, I have on several occasions pulled over cars full of property, which I am sure was stolen. How you may ask? Well, when a person doesn’t have two nickels to rub together, but they are driving around with numerous car stereos (replete with frayed or cut wires), multiple home stereo systems, and lots and lots of power tools, it tends to make one think that crime is afoot. It’s a difficult thing letting these cars go because we cannot prove that the items were stolen.
Much of the burglaries and thefts we deal with are classically tied to drug abuse. Daytime burglaries are often associated with heroin abusers. The reason for this is that heroin constricts the pupils causing difficulty seeing in the dark. The simple fact is that heroin is very expensive and addicts need to come up with money frequently, usually through theft.
Nighttime burglars are often associated with methamphetamine. The reason for this is that meth addicts don’t sleep. It is not uncommon for meth addicts to stay up for days on end while they are on a run. As with heroin, methamphetamine is expensive and completely consuming. The addict wakes up thinking about how they are going to get some meth, thinks about how they have meth (when they have it), and thinks about how they had meth and wonders how they are going to get some more. This is an expensive proposition and has to be paid for somehow.
The Chico Police Department website show that there were 851 burglaries reported in 2008. The fourth quarter of 2008 bested 2007 by almost 100 more burglaries. This appears to be an average for our town, leading back all the way to 2002 and does not take into account larcenies.
Here are a few ways to help make you and your home a less likely target:
1) Keep perimeter lights on at night.
2) Don’t leave valuables unsecured or in plain sight. Close your blinds and drapes.
3) Lock your side gates.
4) Engrave your driver’s license number onto your tools and other valuables. This can be run by officers and are called “Owner applied numbers, or OANs.” An engraver is super cheap and is fun for younger kids to use. Come to think of it, you might actually want to keep the engraver up and out of reach when not in use for this very reason.
5) Get a dog. They bark, they bite, they’ve got it all.
6) Install a residential alarm which has a 24 hour monitoring service.
7) Install surveillance cameras with a DVR recorder.
8) Form an active neighborhood watch. Just having signs is more of a placebo to the residents and will do little to dissuade criminals. Being diligent in your efforts is what is necessary to make the program work.
9) Write down serial numbers.
Recall the carload of stolen goods? Taking 30 minutes to write down your serial numbers can mean the difference between retrieving your property and having your stuff sold for drug money. This list should be kept in a safe place and can be updated when new purchases are made. I have added a sample outline which can be used to write down descriptions and serial numbers of your belongings.
Stay safe.
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