Police Chief Suggests Locking Your Car Doors at Night

Our community has seen a significant rise in burglaries to motor vehicles and trespass to motor vehicles during the first six months of 2016 as opposed to the same time frame in 2015. In 2015, from January through June, we had 93 reports regarding burglaries and trespass to motor vehicles, whereas this year during the same time frame we have taken 141 reports representing a 34% increase in these offenses. In recent weeks many of these crimes are occurring on the south side of our community, Greek Row neighborhood, and the Ellwood Historic District.

The DeKalb Police have instituted a variety of proactive policing measures and area residents have also provided police with timely notifications regarding suspicious activity in their neighborhoods which have resulted in several arrests. In 2016 to date we have made 23 arrests, the majority being juvenile offenders who have been linked to multiple incidents. The vast majority of the vehicles targeted have been unlocked with valuables of all sorts in plain view. Although the times these incidents have occurred vary, a significant amount of them have occurred from the early evening to the early morning hours.

The DeKalb Police will continue to implement proactive policing strategies in an effort to mitigate these offenses and arrest the offenders but we also need our residents help as well. Please help us make our community safer and to protect your personal property by doing the following:

• Make sure your vehicles are secured by keeping your windows up and doors locked and your items out of view so offenders cannot look through your window and see your belongings.
• Place any items you wish to keep in your vehicle secured in the trunk or locked in your glove box.
• When you see something suspicious in your neighborhood call the police, don’t wait.
• With the onset of nice weather our children will be out and about much more so we ask that you pay extra attention to where your children are and what they are doing.

Thank you for your support and help in making our community a better place.

Respectfully,
Gene Lowery
Chief of Police