Talking Burglaries with the Police

One of the most consistent aspects of this blog is the steady stream of burglaries in Randolph and Maymont and to a lesser degree, Byrd Park. Our little slice of the 3rd precinct is pretty quiet compared to many other parts of the city, but the crimes that do occur, I’m sure most of us could do without. I don’t have any stats on the burglaries, but when you search “burglary” on this blog, you come up with 30 hits in the last year. In July 2011, I posted a story focused on the seemingly flat-screen TV focused burglaries in the area. Yesterday, I asked @RichmondPolice on Twitter if they had anything to share with us and they kindly gathered a quote from Lt. Erlan Marshall:

“We have not developed any suspects in the robberies in that area. However, of the 14 burglaries in the month of May, there were 2 in each of those three areas with the other 8 in the Fan. We have made a significant arrest in the Fan of Mr. Brett Johnson on May 23. We have not had a Fan burglary since his arrest.

“The best advice I can give citizens when it comes to keeping their homes safe is this:

• Install an alarm system
• Buy the door club (online $20)
• Make sure windows are locked
• Do a neighborhood watch and
• Remove valuable items from where they are visible from outdoors.”

It’s good to review ways to make sure that we’re doing what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen to us. This recommendation is the first I’ve heard about The Door Club. Not sure it’s very reassuring when many police reports mention people coming in through your window. How are you feeling about this issue? It’s got to be disconcerting that no burglars have been caught in our neighborhoods.  Does it seem like the LCD TV spree has let up? What are the contributing factors?