Capitol West Neighborhood Association

Preventing Burglaries

Feb 03, 2009

In December, 2008, District Seven officers responded to three unrelated house burglaries. Common items were taken such as large screen televisions, money and other electronic items. The highly unusual fact about these three burglaries, is that within the last month, the house or the garages have all been broken into again. At burglary investigations officers are asked many times, by the victims, if the burglar(s) will come back and take items that may have not been able to take the first time. The definitive answer is always no, as this is a rare occurance, because most residents will take the proper steps to secure their house or garage after they have been broken into. If your house or garage is broken into, please replace points of entry, such as doors and windows as soon as possible. Take extra precautions, such as installing outside lights that will light up the rear yard area or garage area, leave porch lights on, put lights on timers when you are away, make sure all first floor windows are pinned shut, all entry doors should be solid wood, consider buying an alarm system, etc. In addition to basic harden your target tips, please contact Officer Shellee Lubus at 935-7930 to schedule a security survey of your house and garage. And lastly, always consider starting up a block watch in your area, as a nosey neighbor is still your best way to prevent a burglary.