Six residential burglaries in six days have prompted Palo Alto police to warn residents to be vigilant and lock their windows and doors.
“We have had a spike,” said Det. Sgt. Brian Philip of the police property-crimes investigative unit said Monday.
The spate of break-ins began July 26, with the latest occurring Aug. 1. The burglaries were in north Palo Alto neighborhoods: on the 900 block of Elsinore Drive, 600 block of Palo Alto Avenue, 700 block of Alester Avenue, 1700 and 1900 blocks of Channing Avenue and 100 block of Walter Hays Drive. The burglars were believed to be on bicycles and scooters, he said.
Items taken in three burglaries included jewelry (including a wedding ring), MacBooks, an iPhone, an Apple notebook and a revolver, police spokesman Officer Sean Downey said. In two cases the possessions were worth $4,650 and $5,550, he said. The value of items stolen in two others burglaries were not immediately known, and nothing was taken in one incident, according to police logs.
Over the past several months, the department has fought a spate of auto burglaries with the help of law enforcement in other cities and the San Mateo and Santa Clara County gang task forces. Several burglary groups working vehicle and residential break-ins have been affiliated with street gangs, Philip said.
Police captured many of the criminals responsible for last year’s spate of residential burglaries. Twenty-six burglaries occurred in August 2012 alone. They put pressure on convicted burglars who are on probation and parole. But gangs might now have new players, he said.
“It may be that they are passing on knowledge to other subjects,” Philip said.
Fourteen residential burglaries occurred in July 2012 compared to the six this July, he said. But police don’t want the thieves to get a foothold. March, August, October and November were last year’s biggest burglary months, he said.
“We need to remind people to be very vigilant about your property,” Philip said.
In most of the recent incidents, thieves gained entry through open windows and unlocked doors. One thief climbed up and entered through an open second-story window. In the Alester incident, the thief tried one back yard window and then entered through a second one that was unlocked.
No arrests have been made.
The department will renew a special-enforcement detail, consisting of additional patrol and plain-clothes officers. Palo Alto will continue its collaboration with other police departments and with Santa Clara and San Mateo county gang task forces, he said.
The department is asking residents to review suggestions from its “Lock It or Lose It!” crime-prevention campaign. Information, including updated burglary maps, is available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/pol/.
> The burglars were believed to be on bicycles and scooters, he said.
And what evidence does the police have to make this claim?
Of course, bicycles are the cause of all of Palo Alto’s problems.
That has to be the slowest map (of July/Aug) burglaries. I gave up but there can’t be more than two dozen data points. Could the Palo Alto police use Google Maps or some other web system?
If you see two people riding on one bike – and later you see those two on two bikes, call the PAPD!! Also watch for possible suspects who have a gunny sack or other carry item…and especially if the bag looks as if it has something in it.
If you see someone on a bike, with a backpack… RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!
Dudes, I want to be iCool too and bash the cops. Any suggestions?
To Anonymous from Another Palo Alto Neighborhood:
If your computer cannot load that map, maybe you are missing some application. Mine opened in a second or less. It is a .pdf document. Can you open other .pdf documents? Do you have Adobe Reader? If not, then no wonder. Or maybe you don’t have enough memory or you have a very old computer.
bad if you get into 2nd floor!
How do we get fresh air without getting robbed.
Pretty Sad.
That’s what happens when the state shoves decades of “affordable living” apartments down our throat.
I’d love to see a Crescent Park neighborhood patrol – I’ll buy the Polo Ralph Lauren berets! Who’ll pay for a mobile latte machine?
thats right!!!! bicycles are being pulled over vCONSTANTLY!!!! you jump on your bike, you get pulled over almost immediately!!! not even cops c hecking motorists texting while going thru red lights as they are questioning YOU! bicycles are the main problem in the world. its over
To Chris Zaharias: thanks for the chicle. Over College Terrace way, we’d need some Birkenstocks and a green energy drink.
>> The burglars were believed to be on bicycles and scooters, he said.
>And what evidence does the police have to make this claim?
well known by any cop in any city that burglars often travel by bike. Quiet, can easily go where cars can’t. Easily hidden.
spare us the knee jerk reactions because you get your crime info from watching CSI reruns.
“CSI reruns”…LOL.
If we Palo Altans put everything we don’t need that’s in our homes out on the street corner on a regular basis, crime would immediately & permanently go to zero.
“a revolver”?
great…one more gun on the streets. this won’t end well.
folks, if you’ve got to have them, please lock them up.
If the Police aren’t allowed to stop people wearing doo-rags, then what’s the difference with stopping someone on a bike???? TPARS!!
“If we Palo Altans put everything we don’t need that’s in our homes out on the street corner on a regular basis, crime would immediately & permanently go to zero. “
Actually, the neighborhood would look like a flea market for a while, then a junk yard until the leftover trash was removed. But more significantly, people we might not want in our neighborhoods would be attracted to the stuff and think “Gee, if this is what they are throwing away, what are they keeping?” You might as well put signs in your front yard advertizing how attractive your house is as a burglary target.
put it all down to the existence of portable electronic devices.