Police are urging residents to have a heightened awareness of their surroundings and to promptly report any suspicious activity to them, in view of a recent increase in burglaries.

Lieutenant Richard Robinson, who heads the police department’s detective unit, said that during the three-month period from November through January inclusive, there were 19 local burglaries reported to police.

Statistically, that burglary rate is much higher than would be expected. It is more than one-third higher than average, compared to the preceding three years.

“There is no indication that all the burglaries are related … There is reason to believe they are not,” he said.

While some of the burglaries may be related, police do not have a strong suspect for more than a single burglary, the lieutenant said.

There have been three main types of burglaries occurring, according to Lt Robinson.

Residential burglaries typically involve the theft of jewelry and cash, with some high value smaller electronic devices also stolen, he said. Commercial burglaries typically target cash and merchandise, he said.

Also, there have been numerous copper thefts, in which thieves steal copper piping and other scrap metals from within vacant buildings, he said. There are many vacant houses in town, creating targets for thieves seeking to steal metals for their scrap value, he said.

During the November through January period, there were eight residential burglaries, four commercial burglaries, and seven burglaries involving the theft of copper/scrap metals, he said.

Lt Robinson said the overall loss value of the 19 burglaries is unclear, but generally, the loss value in each residential burglary and each commercial burglary is “several thousand dollars.” That figure includes the value of the stolen items, as well as repair costs for damage done during such break-ins.

In the case of copper thefts, the loss value would be roughly $10,000 per incident, he said. That figure includes the value of items stolen, as well as the repair costs and replacement costs stemming from the thefts.

“The Newtown Police Department has several suspects, some that we are investigating for multiple offenses. However, there currently is not enough evidence to apply for [arrest] warrants … on any multiple-offense suspects,” Lt Robinson said.

All of the recent burglaries are under investigation by police, with progress in those various probes at various stages of development, he said.

Lt Robinson said that that according to FBI statistics, the national average clearance rate for burglaries is about 13 percent, representing the fraction of reported burglaries committed which police eventually solve.

The lieutenant said that locally, police, so far, have solved 29 percent of the burglaries that occurred in 2014. Also, they solved 13 percent of burglaries that occurred in 2013, and 22 percent of burglaries that occurred in 2012.

 

Take Precautions

Police urge that residents take some basic precautions to prevent burglaries from occurring.

Doors should be locked and any valuable items should be hidden and kept out of plain sight.

Police urge that residents become knowledgeable about their immediate neighborhoods, paying special attention to any vacant houses in their area.

If a person comes to a resident’s door in soliciting business, or if a strange vehicle is observed in the neighborhood, police urge that residents contact them promptly.

In such cases, police urge that residents obtain as much information as possible, such as a good description of the person or people involved in the incident, a good description of the vehicle that they are using, and specific identifying information such as the marker plate number of the vehicle.

While police urge that residents serve as good witnesses in obtaining information, they also urge that residents not put themselves in harm’s way to obtain such information.

Police ask anyone with new information or old information concerning burglaries to contact them at the police station at 3 Main Street at 203-426-5841, or at 911 in the event of an emergency.

The police department has a crime prevention unit which aids the public in preventing crimes through the “Neighborhood Watch” program in which neighborhood members organize and keep watch over their areas to prevent crimes.