The weather is getting warmer, the grass is greener, and school is out. While these are usually positive aspects of the summer months, these factors can also contribute to higher crime in the neighborhood. One neighborhood homeowner had his lawn equipment stolen from his open garage while he was in the back yard. The responding police officers told him that they were getting hundreds of similar calls involving lawn equipment. Now that school is out, there is even more reason to secure your property.
Q. Do you typically see a rise in crime when the weather gets warmer?
We typically do see crime increases during the summer months. Factors contributing to these increases can be:
• Increased juvenile activity resulting from students being out of school.
• People engaging in more outdoor activities.
• Extremely hot weather can cause tempers to flare more easily, resulting in more assaults.
Q. Do you notice certain types of thefts occurring with more frequency as summer approaches? If so, what types of crimes?
Our thefts of unattended property at pools, parks and homes tend to represent the most significant increases during the summer. Property taken in these offenses can be cell phones, radios, money, lawn equipment – virtually anything a thief thinks he can sell.
Q. Is lawn equipment a high-priority target right now? If so, are landscaping companies ever implicated in these crimes?
Lawn equipment is commonly stolen. Most times it is from open garages and storage sheds, but it is sometimes taken from yards as well. People will leave their mower in the front yard while they are edging in the back, only to return and find their mower is gone. These items are easily pawned and rarely does the homeowner have a serial number to identify the equipment should it be found in a pawnshop. We have not found any evidence that would lead us to believe that landscaping companies are responsible for these types of offenses.
Q. Is it true that crime traditionally goes up after school is out? If so, what steps does the department take to deal with the problem?
We will generally see increases in crime during the summer months, after school is out. The fact that kids are out of school and frequently have unsupervised time on their hands can lead to criminal activity, but there are other factors that impact crime as well. The department analyzes crime on a weekly basis to determine the best deployment of resources. We want to put our officers in the best position to allow them to have the most impact on preventing crime. This may require adjusting work hours, assigning officers to special assignments, or requesting assistance from specialized units such as Traffic, Vice or Narcotics.
Q. What are some crime prevention measures residents can take as summer approaches?
1. Do not leave garage doors open.
2. Follow the practice of Lock, Take and Hide when leaving property in the car.
3. Park vehicles in the garage when possible.
4. Do not leave lawn equipment or other personal property unattended.
5. Join a neighborhood crime watch and watch out for one another.
