The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Police give tips on keeping burglars away

By Natasha Collins

Although Sunnyvale is one of the safest cities in the United States, there is still crime here, said Public Safety Chief Regan Williams at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

"We have all the crimes in this area, but on a much lower level," he said. "People are surprisingly more afraid of having their homes burglarized than being killed."

Crimes of opportunity, such as home and car burglaries, are the most common crimes reported in Sunnyvale, Lt. Dave Lewis said.

"In the past burglars were someone who would chop through the roof of a business and steal the safe," Lewis said. "Today a burglar is someone who drives by a business and sees a computer in the window and throws a brick through the window to get the computer."

The more vulnerable people make themselves, the more likely they are to be a target, Williams said. "The best way to protect yourself is to be prepared and make it more difficult for someone [to burglarize your property]," he said.

The following precautions are recommended to protect homes and cars:

* install an alarm;

* do not leave car phones or valuables in plain sight;

* have someone check on your home while you are on vacation;

* place locks on windows and doors;

* have neighbors pick up the newspaper and mail, mow the lawn and water the plants while you are out of town;

* place lights on a timer; and

* park cars in the garage.

"Try not to make it obvious that you are away," Williams said. "We have very few thefts with cars in locked garages."

The Public Safety Department will come to businesses and homes to make a safety assessment.

"The suggestions they make are about little things that you just don't think about," said Chamber director Suzi Blackman, whose office was assessed by the public safety officers. "Nothing they recommended was that costly, either."

According to the Public Safety Department, these assessments help form a crime-prevention partnership between officers and property owners.

"Everyone is worried about crime," Lewis said. "By working together we can help people from becoming victims and keep crime down in the city."

Public safety officers can be reached at 730-7110.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 16, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.