Just the Facts
You’ve seen the Brink’s Home Security commercials on TV. A mother and her young children, or a teenage girl, are “home alone” at night, doing at-home things, and suddenly a “bad guy” tries to break in (he’s also always a “white guy” — guess nobody else ever burglarizes homes).
But then the Brink’s burglar alarm goes off, so loud you could hear it in Jericho, and the spooked “bad guy” takes to his heels. The very next second the phone rings: It’s the Brink’s “good guy,” saying, “Are you all right? We just got an alarm from your home.” He promises to send the police, also instantly.
Such alarms made by Brink’s or other companies can be very effective, although possibly not quite as swift as depicted. That was one of the burglary-related issues Det. Sgt. Jeremey Perkins and Det. Sr. Ptl. Tyson Eblen of the Madison Police Department discussed this week in a joint interview about the epidemic of burglaries in this area the last year.
Asked about homeowners’ investing in such home security systems, Eblen said he thinks some are effective in foiling would-be break-in artists.
“Those with a direct link to law enforcement are the most effective and fastest,” said Eblen, who wore a cap suggesting Sherlock Holmes during the interview. “I don’t know if we’ve had a successful burglary when (the home was equipped with an alarm).”
“The loud noise is obviously going to be a deterrent,” said Perkins. “A lot of things will be going through the burglar’s mind: ‘Are the police coming? Will the neighbors here this?’ ”
Eblen said the silent alarms hooked up directly with a police agency give police a better chance of capturing the crooks; but the alarm that gives the ear-shattering blast of noise is more effective at protecting a home where children live because it’s likely to scare the bad guys away.
“I guess from our standpoint we’d rather catch them in the act — but we’d hate to put anyone in harm’s way,” said Eblen.
A total of 66 individuals were arrested in Madison last year on burglary-related charges (burglary, theft, residential entry, possession of stolen property, receiving stolen property, aiding in a burglary, or unauthorized entry into a vehicle), the two MPD detectives related during the interview. Some of those people were charged with three or four such offenses (or more), Perkins said. It is an axiom among police officers that a thief seldom commits just one burglary, then quits — unless he’s unlucky enough to get caught the first time.
“People arrested for burglary may only admit to one burglary, but if there were some other break-ins we’re investigating that show the same method of operation, they may be offered a plea deal by the prosecutor: Plead guilty to one, then give a clean-up statement confessing to the others — but receive immunity from prosecution for them as part of the plea agreement,” Perkins said.
He said that it’s hard to give a solid number for the number of burglaries in Madison for last year, because in some cases police suspect the report is false. For instance, someone may report that a burglar stole his or her television set, which was a rent-to-own, when the set was actually sold to purchase illegal drugs. Or someone may report that their stock of prescription drugs was stolen, when they are really just trying to get the stock replenished for free. Perkins said such cases artificially inflate the number of burglaries reported. But he said absent solid evidence proving a false report, police have to prepare their case report according to the homeowner’s or occupant’s allegations.
Asked to tell, without revealing any “trade secrets,” how police detectives investigate a burglary, Perkins said, “Well, after the uniformed officers secure the scene, we get called there; we take photos, dust for fingerprints, seek possible footprints of the burglars outside near the house. We interview witnesses, if any, neighbors or residents of the house.”
If none of those actions leads to any suspects, what do the detectives do then?
“In the absence of all those, you kind of wait for an informant,” Eblen said. “Word about a burglary gets around, just like anything else.”
“Unfortunately people are sometimes afraid to come forward. They fear retaliation” by the felons, Perkins said. Eblen added that this is pretty common — unfortunately.
Aside from the fact that homes with alarms are less vulnerable to burglary, the two detectives said there are some other things that a homeowner or occupant can do to ward off the break-and-enter felons:
— Keep your garage door closed, and don’t leave your vehicle unlocked, whether it’s parked at your home or elsewhere.
— Don’t leave items lying out visible inside your vehicle while you are away from it.
— Join or start a neighborhood watch. You can call the Madison Police at 265-3347 for information about such a civilian organization.
— Mount a surveillance video system in your home, if you can afford it. An outdoor light with a motion-detector sensor is also very helpful.
— If you can afford it, place a safe in your home. Secure it to the floor so it can’t be easily removed. Valuables can be stored in it.
— Record the serial numbers of items such as electronic appliances, and engrave them with something specific to you, like your driver’s license number or Indiana ID number.
“We as Madison Police officers know and understand this epidemic of burglaries that’s going on, and we’re doing everything we can to put these guys behind bars,” said Eblen. “But we ask the public to be patient. We can’t risk jeopardizing the integrity of a case” by acting in haste or on insufficient evidence.
Perkins said that any information from the public can be helpful in solving the burglaries.
“I think we as a department have come a long way in closing these cases, and putting these people in jail.”
Old Corporal <corporalko@yahoo.com>
Just the facts, Ma’am!, – Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 20:21:14 (EST)
