Crime

SFPD Crime Prevention Tips: “Ten Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You”

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

In response to yesterday’s post about a thwarted home burglary attempt in Our Faire Neighborhood, Bernalwood reader SeanD commented with some street-smart burglary-avoidance tips from the San Francisco Police Department.  I’m reposting those tips here, for our collective benefit.

From Bayview Station Captain Greg Suhr’s newsletter (w/o permission but something tells me he won’t mind):

Ten Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You:

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste…. And taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming systems they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up in the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer on your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. A good security company alarms the windows over the sink and the windows
on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom- and your jewelry.

6. It’s raining. You’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forgot to lock your door. But understand this: I don’t take the day off because of bad weather .

7. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions or offer to clean your gutters. If you don’t answer, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

8. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, the medicine cabinet and the
freezer.

9. Here are some helpful hints: I almost never go into kids’ room, I hate loud dogs and nosey neighbors, and most importantly: A loud TV or
radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system.

10. Avoid announcing your vacation plans on your Facebook page. It is easier than you think to look up your address on the internet.

Photo: Captain Greg Shur, by SF Bayview Business Council

Crime Blotter: Bad Dad Commands Clueless Kids to Steal from Your Mailbox!

/ Todd_Lappin

Good Morning, Officer

Looks like a certain someone is unlikely to win the Best Dad of the Year Award. But he remains a very viable candidate to win Stupid Douchebag Dad of the Year. From the San Francisco Examiner:

Three days before Christmas, an allegedly bad dad made his son and nephew swipe mail from mailboxes in Bernal Heights, police said.

Cops say a suspect who was booked at Ingleside Station Wednesday gave the young boys plastic bags with instructions to steal mail from mailboxes, then showed them how to use a stick to reach mail in some boxes, police said.

A citizen reported the thefts to cops, who said the trio possessed a “copious amount” of mail. The mail reportedly came from several residences in the area.

Photo: Troy Holden

Crime Blotter: Thievery on Cortland Street

/ Todd_Lappin

SFPD

Via bernalsafe comes news of a string of thefts on Cortland that took place last Thursday, December 16, as reported in the Captain’s Newsletter of the SFPD’s Ingelside Station:

06:20 pm 400 blk Cortland Theft, from Building
Officers Yuen and Paras responded to a theft call. The officers met with the victim, a restaurant employee, who stated that a man had stolen money from her wallet. The victim stated that the suspect entered the restaurant and asked to use the restroom. The man was directed toward the restroom, but the victim found him in the storage room. She pointed to the restroom and the suspect entered. The victim entered the storage room and found that her wallet had been taken out of her purse and was open with money missing. The man exited the restroom and denied taking the victims money. He then ran out of the restaurant. Suspect Description: African American, 20-21 years old, 6’1, 150 lbs, brown hair and eyes, wearing a red plaid jacket, dark color skinny jeans, carrying a black tote bag. Report number 101157603

06:45 pm 300 blk Cortland Theft, from Building
A woman, closing her business was approached by a subject with the same physical description as the other theft on Cortland Street. She told the man that she was closed for the day and he lingered suspiciously in the store, then left. Moments later the victim discovered that her laptop computer had been stolen. The suspect had left the store in an unknown direction. Report number 101157738

Photo: Thomas Hawk