Update: Police arrested two 16-year-olds in connection to the burglary.
Earlier this month, a woman (who preferred to remain anonymous for her safety) returned home from work to find her home on the 4100 block of Beechwood burglarized. The intruders entered by smashing her glass patio door.
Thousands of dollars worth of antique jewelry was stolen, including her wedding ring and her son’s graduation ring from Jesuit Preparatory School.
“It’s not the cost of the damages, but the loss of memories that gets me,” the victim shared over the phone.
“Listing each individual item that was stolen for insurance… this is the hardest thing I have ever been through,” she says.
The burglars left the victim’s passports, credit cards, and personal identification, but made quick work looking for cash behind dressers and in the freezer. The victim shares that detectives suspect that the burglars were experienced, possibly burglarizing the home in less than five minutes.
The Preston Hollow neighborhood encompasses two divisions of the Dallas Police Department: everything west of the Dallas Tollway is patrolled by the North West division, and everything east of the Tollway is patrolled by the North Central division.
North Central officers were unavailable for comment at the time of publication, but Senior Corporal Dion Burnside of the North West patrol was able to share a few helpful tips to protect additional Preston Hollow residents from being burglarized. He says that despite the victim’s experience, the neighborhood has had a fairly low incidence of home burglaries this month.
“Home burglaries generally occur during the day and business burglaries are late at night. Burglaries cannot always be avoided, but home security alarms, good lighting, keeping brush trimmed back so all windows and doors can be viewed from the street, locking gates, and having neighbors looking out for one another are good measures.”
Officer Burnside says police are always watching offense reports and crime trends — once crime trends are studied and investigated, officers are deployed accordingly.
“Patrol officers, horses, bike, property crime detectives and undercover officers, are sent out to identify suspects and make arrest. After arrest are made, crime decreases,” he says.
“The best crime deterrent in the community is the community itself,” Officer Burnside says. “Without the general public’s observations, calling in suspicious activity, and caring for one another, the Dallas Police Department wouldn’t have the successes it has today.”
