49 Crime Tracker: Home break-ins increase around Topeka
9:35 p.m. Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Central Topekans be warned, home break-ins are increasing in your neck of the woods.
In fact, burglaries across the Capital City are up almost 14 percent from last year and police say a lot of them can be prevented.
"I believe burglaries are one of the most personal crimes that you can experience," said Topeka Police Captain Jerry Stanley.
You come home to an open door, knowing someone has just violated your personal space. It's become a reality for more Topekans this year because just like last year, there has been an increase in home break-ins over the summer.
"Well unfortunately we tend to see a rise in burglaries during the summertime," Stanley said. "That's for a variety of reasons."
Overall crime decrease continues
Even though home break-ins are on the rise, our 49 Crime Tracker found another popular crime in the Capital City is on the way down. By this time last year, there were 398 auto thefts in Topeka. This year, that number is down to 314. That's a 21 percent drop. The decline is part of a larger trend of decreasing crime in Topeka. Overall, property crimes have dropped by almost 17 percent since last year.
School is out, garages are left open, people are on vacation; the list goes on and on. But the increase in break-ins was not unexpected and Captain Stanley says police have taken steps to prevent break-ins.
"Well (with) the crime mapping and the crime analysis that we have, we try to predict where crimes might occur," he said.
From there, more officers patrol the neighborhoods at specific times to try and catch and deter criminals. Police have also launched programs like Record it, Report it and Recover it. The program has already proven affective, helping officers put a Playstation 2 back in the hands of its rightful owner after a thief tried to pawn it.
But there are other active steps you can take to protect yourself.
"Human beings are creatures of habit and that tends to work against them," Stanley said. "Criminals sometimes pick up on that and use that to their advantage."
By changing what time you leave home for work, or coming back home for lunch one day out of the week, Stanley says you can deter criminals from breaking into your home.
"Lock your belongings up, lock your doors, make sure your garage doors are shut," Stanley said, "Don't leave things out for people to be attracted to steal, and we can reduce crime in Topeka."
Burglaries are up 14 percent so far this year, compared to the same time last year. But Captain Stanley also said police expect a drop in break-ins from this past June to July.
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