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August 17, 2010

Officials urge residents to protect property from thieves

By Brian Livingston / blivingston@themeridianstar.com The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Tue Aug 17, 2010, 06:00 AM CDT

QUITMAN —     Residents tend to believe they will not become a victim of burglaries in their home or vehicle.

   They convince themselves it only happens to the other guy, officials said.

   The reality: everyone is a potential victim.

   On the heels of releasing summer burglary numbers, Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department officials said home and car owners can drastically reduce the chances they will be targeted by thieves with a simple measure — lock your home and cars.

   This works because thieves are lazy, Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun said. Thieves look for the easiest way in and out of a situation as quickly as possible. If they can get away with a cell phone or a purse without waking up the family dog, that’s their goal, he said.

   Since June 1, more than 40 homes in Lauderdale County have been burglarized, Calhoun said. Also, almost 20 cars have been reported as having items stolen from them, he said. Sometimes these vehicles are under the carport of the home.

   "The common theme is that the homes and cars are not secured, locked up or otherwise safe from being a target of thieves," said Calhoun. "If people would just take a minute to lock their car, for instance, these thieves would walk right on by."

   Calhoun also urged residents to hide or take valuable items into the home. GPS instruments, cell phones, stereos, loose change and other items inside the car are like putting up a welcome sign to a thief, he said.

   At the least, Calhoun suggests using the trunk as a reliable hiding place.

   The home isn't much different in terms of keeping your valuables safe. Calhoun said use dead bolt locks if you have them. If you don't have dead bolts? Get some, he said. Alarm systems are available but not always common for homeowners to have. There are varieties of home security systems on the market. A quick search on the Internet might be worth the time if an affordable alarm system can be installed in the home, he said.

   "In these homes there are a lot of video games and game systems that are stolen along with other items that would seem to indicate to us these are young people doing these thefts," Calhoun said. "We do have a number of suspects in many of these cases but no arrests have been made yet."

   Calhoun said the home burglaries have occurred all over the county so there is no real pattern to the incidents reported. The car burglaries, however, have been in the northern and western parts of the county.

   Teaming up with neighbors is a good practice to ease crime. Calhoun said many people believe they have to actually see a crime in progress in order to call 911. That is not the case, he said.

   "You know your neighbors and neighborhoods better than we do so when you see someone or something out of place and suspicious you should call 911 and report it," Calhoun said. "We can do a ride through to check out the report. That is part of our job."

   The main point is to remind residents they ultimately have the control. It is the resident who locks his door and watches his neighbor’s home while they are away. It is the resident who has plenty of light around the home at night to discourage would-be thieves.

   "It is the resident that can help us to catch thieves when they strike," Calhoun said.

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