Three or four days ago a neighbor saw a car being driven down 170 Terrace slowly. After a couple of passes, he called his neighbor Sergeant Nelson Reyes. Nelson immediately drove to the neighborhood and the vehicle was nowhere to be found. Today, the alert neighbor noticed the boys again. This time they were prying their way into a neighbor’s home. Again he called Nelson. Nelson was in a meeting and ran to his patrol car taking with him a couple of officers including a K-9 team. On the way, he notified the Miami-Dade Police Department since it was in its jurisdiction.
The involved neighbor pointed out to the police the direction the burglars were headed and two of the three were arrested and gave a full confession and the stolen items were recovered. The burglars were aged 13, 14 and 15. They are students of JFK Junior High School and do not live in the community. The 14 and 15 year olds were the ones arrested. Both are black males.
The window they broke into was an impact window. Impact windows are burglar resistant, not burglar proof.
There has been no slowdown in burglaries in the community. Short of closing access points to our community which needs to be done, there are a few things we can do:
1. Vigilance. Remain aware of your surrounding. When you see something suspicious, report it. Write down the details including year make, model and color of the car. as well as the license tag number and the descriptions of the suspects. A call to the police will be treated as a lower priority than a crime in progress but it still needs to be reported. If there turns out to be a reasonable explanation, great! You still took the proper action by reporting it.
Several weeks ago, a different neighbor noticed a suspicious incident and wrote down the tag number of the vehicle but did not call the police since he was not certain that a crime was being committed. Later a roofer called the police to report a burglary in progress. The burglars were gone when the police arrived, but the neighbor that did not call the police provided the vehicle tag number and the police located the burglar at his home on 7th Avenue and arrested him after finding some of the stolen items in the vehicle.
There is no substitute for vigilance and following through by calling the police and remaining observant at a safe distance.
2. Monitored burglar alarms. Again, it is not burglar poof, but most often the sound of the alarm frightens the attempted burglars off. Recently a burglar entered a home after the alarm was tripped. The burglar grabbed something and left quickly without much and without ransacking the home presumably because the alarm sounded.
3. Impact windows. Burglars generally choose the easiest point of entry. Impact windows are more difficult and deter most but not all burglars.
4. Doors and Windows. When you are not home, keep windows closed and doors locked. If locks are broken or the windows do not close right, fix them.
5. Shrubs. Keep shrubs trimmed away from windows and other areas that provide a convenient way for burglars to operate unobstructed.
Together we will make a difference.
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