Crime & Safety
Safety Alert: Police Report Increase in Home Burglaries
These burglaries generally occur during the day while residents are gone. If you hear unexplained repeated kicking or breaking sounds, police ask you to call 510-525-7300 to report them. Visible laptops in particular have been targeted.
The past several months have seen an uptick in residential burglaries throughout Albany, police reported Friday.
Karina Tindol, who coordinates the city's Neighborhood Watch program, released the following information about the burglaries. Her notice has been reprinted in full:
The would like to encourage you to be vigilant about securing your home and property. In the past several months there has been an increase in residential burglaries throughout the city. Many of these homes were entered via a back or side door that was either unlocked or pried open.
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These burglaries generally occur during the day while residents are gone or away on vacation. The burglars are entering unoccupied homes. Sometimes they knock or ring the doorbell to see if anyone will answer. If someone answers, the burglar will usually have a story for having knocked and then depart. If no one answers, the burglar goes around to the side or back to attempt to gain entry.
There is often little noise associated with this type of crime, especially if entry can be made through an open door or window. However, some doors have been kicked or pried open. If you hear repeated kicking or breaking noises, please be alert and try to ascertain where the noise is coming from. Then call the police so we can check out the situation.
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Please be aware that laptops have been particularly targeted recently. Often these laptops are near a window and easily visible from outside the residence. We recommend that you do not leave your laptop where it can be seen from the sidewalk or street.
Another effective deterrent is to know your neighbors and actively report suspicious activity. The Albany Police Department needs your help in watching for and reporting suspicious activity. If you would like training on how to effectively report suspicious activity, we are happy to include you in our Neighborhood Watch program.
For more information about , please contact Karina Tindol at ktindol@albanyca.org, 510-528-5755 (desk) or 510-812-6240 (cell).
