Crime Report – Mountain Brook Update 5-6-10
This past week there were 5 home burglaries and 1 UBEV (Unlawful Breaking and Entering a Vehicle).
Two of these burglaries occurred on 4-29-10 on Camellia Drive between 7:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. and items taken included a television and games. These homes did not have burglar alarms. The thief or thieves entered by breaking a window on one of the homes and forcing a back door open on the other.
The 3rd burglary occurred between 5-1-10 and 5-3-10 on Salisbury Road. The thieves took 2 bicycles, some frozen meat and other items. The garage was entered through an unlocked door and there was no alarm. We haven’t determined if this offense occurred during the daytime or at night.
The 4th burglary occurred on 5-5-10 on Peacock Lane between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M.. A television, several game systems and games were taken. The rear door of the residence was forced open. There was no alarm.
The 5th burglary occurred today on Southwood Road. It happened at about 11:25 A.M.. The burglar failed to enter this home as it had an alarm and it was activated. Nothing was taken.
There was one UBEV this past week and it occurred on Ridgeview Dr. East. The time of occurrence was around midnight. The vehicle was unlocked and a gps and cell phone were taken. The investigation of this UBEV has resulted in the arrest of a suspect who was in the area during the time that this UBEV occurred. We are confident that this individual was involved in committing this offense.
________________________________________________________________
If you have a burglar alarm make sure you have motion detectors and or glass breakage sensors. The burglars are breaking windows and entering homes in an attempt to bypass the alarm system.
Floodlights with motion detectors can be effective in deterring people from wandering around your driveway or around your home. They are relatively inexpensive and can be installed easily. If you have these installed, the lights will come on immediately if someone enters that particular area around your home.
The thieves have discovered that women who are dropping off or picking up children at daycares are easy victims because they leave their cars unlocked. Please be aware of this. We had several of these over the past few weeks and we believe we can connect the white male from Ohio with some of these.
We have many thefts where people discover their jewelry missing months after they saw it last. It would be a good idea to inventory your jewelry and put it in a safe place. Many people take a video camera and video everything in their home. This is invaluable after a fire and sometimes after a burglary. Things are taken or destroyed that you may never miss unless you have some kind of inventory available.
Please try to remember to turn your alarm on even if you are going to be gone for a short period of time.
Please remember that if you have important information on your home computer, back it up on a separate device. It is devastating to lose years of family pictures or other valuable information because a thief took your computer and you didn’t take the time to save that information.
If you have a vehicle with a soft top, be aware that thieves are cutting those tops to steal from the vehicles. It is very expensive to have these tops repaired. It is better to leave these vehicles unlocked with no valuables inside than to have the top cut for an article worth much less than a new or repaired top.
Please don’t leave keys on a tire when you go walking. Thieves know that people do this. If you are out walking in a park, please pay attention to any suspicious vehicles or individuals. If someone looks out of place call the police department and let us check them out.
If thieves can see inside your vehicle and there is a purse, laptop or anything of significant value inside they will knock a window out to gain possession of that item.
Please don’t leave valuable items in unlocked vehicles or in view in locked vehicles. Place items of value in the trunk of your vehicle.
When you are grocery shopping please don’t leave an unattended purse in a buggy. It only takes a second for a thief to remove your wallet or purse while you are distracted and you may not notice it until you get to the checkout.
Please keep watching out for your neighbors and remember "when in doubt", call.
Thanks
Lieutenant Jim Cole
Detective Division
Mountain Brook Police Department