A large crowd packed into the Catherine Blaine cafeteria to hear from the Seattle Police Department that burglaries are up in the Magnolia area 31% over last year.
This did not come as a big surprise to many in the audience who reported being victims or knowing people who were victims of home burglaries in the area. Officers say Magnolia is a target for burglars and car thieves because it is considered an affluent area.
Property crime is the biggest problem in Magnolia and half of the burglaries are classified as non forced entry. That means that burglars are able to get into a home easily through an unlocked door or window. In 2009, only 36% of the residential burglaries in Magnolia were forced entry.
Officers told the crowd that most burglaries in Magnolia happen during the day. Many burglars use brute force to get inside homes and officers recommend that residents remove large rocks from their home area so they can’t be used to break a window. They also tell residents to trim shrubs and install lots of lights around homes, especially motion sensor lights. About a third of the burglaries take place in a detached buildings such as garages where it is easy for burglars to grab whatever is inside and run.
Lisa told the crowd that her home was burglarized in December while she was out of town. Burglars forced entry and took her computer, television, jewelry and clothing. The burglars also stole checks from an old account and they have been using them in the area. She says she would not wish the experience on her worst enemy.
Lisa’s home was part of a string of burglaries that took place in December. Officers were able to make arrests in those cases, including one with an assist from a resident who saw the burglars with items from his home. They say the number of burglaries have dropped in the area since the arrests.
SPD says the best way to thwart burglars is to be part of a neighborhood block watch and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. They also encourage residents to call 911 or the non emergency number 206-625-5011 when they see anything that does not seem right.
In a number of burglary cases, neighbors later reported that they saw something unusual but did not do anything. In one case, a neighbor actually saw an unknown person loading electronics from a garage into a car but did not call police. In another a neighbor saw a suspicious person walking from a house with a giant TV but did not make a report.
If you would like to set up a neighborhood block watch, you can call Terrie Johnston at SPD at 206-684-4741 or via email at terrie.johnston@seattle.gov.
