March 25
...serving up your daily dish.
Residents of the First Ward in Montclair called a meeting with the police to hear what they could do to cope with the rash of recent burglaries. Montclair police advised residents to lock their homes, cars, and garages. From The Montclair Times:
Lt. Kenneth V. Miscia Jr. singled out Yantacaw Brook Road, and Alexander and Gordonhurst avenues as having a high number of break-ins from the end of February to the beginning of March._
Miscia and Community Policing Officer John Timchak explained that perpetrators are typically entering homes through the side doors, which usually grants them access to hallways where purses and laptops are left. The lieuten-ant said that most break-ins occur between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.__“It is not like in the movies when robbers are walking out with TV sets,” Miscia said. “They take items quickly and avoid contact with the victim.”
Township Manager Joseph Hartnett said. “Most crimes are that of opportunity, not gangs or jewel thieves. Our basic message is we have very well-trained and sophisticated police [to deal with this].”
The police offered safety tips to the residents: dead bolt locks on all external doors, giving an extra key to neighbors instead of hiding it, installing a burglar alarm and using a light timer while away on vacation.
March 25, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink
All good safety tips from the police dept. How many times have we read recently where cars were "broken into" only to later read that the car was unlocked. Same goes for many home "break-ins". Seems common sense to me.
Posted by: justeL | Mar 25, 2006 1:22:19 PM
Friends just got robbed -- burglar found the "secret hiding place" for their key -- under the front doormat -- considerate thief actuallly left the key in the front door after taking off with a briefcase and digital camera.
Posted by: Word To The Wise | Mar 25, 2006 1:38:15 PM
Here's a funny one. An acquaintance recently told me that he set the house alarm before going to bed, only to find out the next morning that he left the entire set of keys in the front door lock. Guess he was lucky that the bad guys weren't in his neighborhood THAT night!
Posted by: justeL | Mar 25, 2006 1:41:47 PM
Lock the doors-- well, duh! Amazing how many people don't routinely do this, though. Do they think we're living in Mayberry in the 50s?
Posted by: latebloomer | Mar 25, 2006 3:26:59 PM
A lot of people I know still don't lock their doors. There is a good show airing now on the Discovery Channel called It Takes a Theif. It shows how naive some people are about securing their home.
Posted by: ClashCityRocker | Mar 26, 2006 5:57:32 AM
