Lieutenant Richard Robinson, who heads the police department’s detective unit, has a watchword for crime prevention: vigilance.

Staying watchful and being alert to danger or trouble goes a long way toward preventing property crimes such as burglaries and thefts from occurring, he explained this week.

Vigilant people serve as a “force multiplier” for police by expanding police’s ability to respond to problems, he said.

Lt Robinson spoke this week about the need for residents and business owners to be vigilant in view of a recent increase in the number of burglaries in town. That spate of burglaries came during a three-month period which ended in late January. Since then, the string of burglaries has stopped, perhaps due to the intensely cold weather during the past month.

“The best [approach] is to be vigilant,” Lt Robinson said.

Knowing what is normal and what is not normal in a given neighborhood and then reporting what is abnormal to police greatly aids them with law enforcement, he said.

The lieutenant said that nationally it is believed that about 40 percent of burglaries that occur are a result of illegal “unforced entry” to premises. When doors and windows are not locked, it makes it  simple for criminals to illegally enter buildings and commit crimes, he said. People should keep their doors and windows locked, even when they are at home, he said.

A basic way to deter burglaries is to make it appear as if a home is occupied when it is not, he said. Such steps include leaving on some lights, or leaving a television or a radio on when no one is at home to make it appear as if the home is occupied, he said.

To deter burglaries/larcenies, the lieutenant urges that residents not leave any valuable items outdoors or in plain sight. Such items include bicycles, motorcycles, lawn maintenance gear, and snow removal equipment.

Valuable items should not be visible from the street. The visibility of such items becomes a tempting lure for those who are criminally inclined, he said.

Lt Robinson also noted that residents should not hide their house keys in places where a burglar might easily find them, such as beneath a doormat, above a door frame, or within artificial rocks designed for the concealment of keys and valuable. Burglars know all the places to look for hidden keys, he said.   

It is best not to hide keys anywhere outdoors, he added. The lieutenant suggested leaving such keys with trusted people in the neighborhood.

If homeowners make it too difficult for burglars to easily enter their houses, those burglars likely would move on, looking for easier targets, he said.

Burglary, which often occurs as a “crime of opportunity,” is a difficult crime for police to investigate, Lt Robinson said.

A given burglary investigation often is driven by the crime’s “solvability,” based on factors such the evidence available to police and the existence of any criminal suspects in the case.

In Connecticut, there are three degrees of burglary, with first-degree burglary being the most serious. All burglaries are felonies.

The loss value in an individual residential or commercial burglary typically mounts to “several thousand dollars,” according to police. 

Vehicle Burglaries

“We don’t get many forced entries into cars,” Lt Robinson said, noting that most vehicle burglaries occur when criminals simply open the unlocked doors of vehicles and then rapidly search for valuables to steal.

“Lock your car,” he said, stressing the importance of people making it more difficult for criminals to gain entry into their vehicles.

Motorists should bring indoors with them any valuables when they park their vehicles for the night, he said. Bringing valuables indoors is better than placing those valuables in the auto’s trunk, he said. Also, if a vehicle is parked in a residential garage overnight, the garage door should be kept locked.

Lt Robinson said that the presence of burglar alarms serves as a deterrent to crime. Also, after police receive a burglar alarm, they may be able to apprehend a burglar committing a crime, he said.

There are many different types of burglar alarms available which perform different functions, he noted. Lt Robinson suggested that people who want to acquire burglar alarms review information on the subject on the Internet.

Sergeant Steven Santucci heads the police department’s crime prevention unit.

Sgt Santucci said that if the residents of a given neighborhood who are concerned about the incidence of property crimes want to organize themselves as a group to deter such crime, police would aid them in starting a Neighborhood Crime Watch program.

Also, the police department has officers trained in the “crime prevention through environmental design” program, through which the police offer property owners advice on how best to prevent property crimes from occurring at specific properties, according to the sergeant.

Also, if requested, town police will provide an officer to give talks on crime prevention to civic groups.

Sgt Santucci may be contacted at the police station at 3 Main Street, at 203-426-5841.