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Residents who receive emails of the crime reports from the sheriff's office might feel alarmed by the large number of burglary cases that happened in November.
There were a total of 20 home burglaries reported in November, which is about 20 percent of all home burglaries that have been reported this year.
"It appears that there are three groups of people doing this," said Cupertino resource officer Sgt. Skip Shervington. "Detectives working on the stories already have some leads, but we cannot reveal more information at this point so we won't compromise the investigations."
But the Sheriff's Department said even with the recent spike in residential burglaries, it doesn't appear that there will be a significant increase in the total number of felony property crimes at the year's end.
"We are actually on a three-year low for home burglaries," Shervington said. About 94 home burglaries have been reported so far. A total of 123 were reported last year, and there were 162 in 2001.
Although the city has a low number of residential burglaries, there is a slight increase in auto burglaries. A total of 161 auto burglaries have been reported so far. There were 150 last year.
Tips to prevent home burglary:
The following is from the sheriff's office to help prevent theft.
*Lock all doors and windows when you leave the house.
*Report all suspicious people and vehicles by calling 911 or the West Valley Station at 408.299.3233.
*Subscribe to the email community program (eCAP) by visiting the city's website at www.cupertino.org or simply send an email to SHERIFF@cupertino.org. The program was created by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office to prevent and reduce crime by raising community awareness, minimizing opportunities for crime and increasing the possibility of solving crimes with the public's help.
*Be involved in Neighborhood Watch, a crime prevention program that enlists the active participation of citizens in cooperation with law enforcement to reduce crime in their communities. To organize a Neighborhood Watch program, contact Sgt. Skip Shervington at 408.777.3177.
*Keep an extra key with a neighbor instead of under the front-door mat.
Tips to prevent auto burglary:
*Don't leave anything on the dashboard or the seats. Put things in the trunk.
*Don't leave the garage-door opener in the car if you park your car outside.
*Lock the doors and roll up the windows.
*Park in a busy, well-lighted area.
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