From April 1st through April 25th there were seventy-seven (77) residential burglaries in the 3rd Precinct. That is a 45% increase from the same period last year. They occurred throughout the precinct. At this point Minneapolis Police have arrested five suspects who may have been involved in these burglaries.
Of the burglaries:
- 22 (28%) occurred on Fridays.
- 18 (23%) occurred between 4 PM and 6 PM.
- 58 (75%) occurred during daylight hours.
- 23 (29%) occurred during the hours of darkness.
- 60 of the burglary’s occurred in homes. 21 (20%) of those were unforced.
- 17 of the burglaries were garage break-ins. 4 (24%) were unforced.
In response to these crimes, Third Precinct Officers are doing extra patrols in the hardest hit areas – when available between calls. Your best defense to reduce your chances of becoming a victim is to take some simple, common sense Home Security precautions.
This Is What You Can Do:
- Keep your doors and windows locked; both your home and your garage.
- Install effective security hardware (e.g. good deadbolt locks, high security strike plates) to make it more difficult for someone to force their way in to your home or garage.
- Install good lighting around your property.
- Keep outside lights on at night, especially around entrances.
- Make sure your house number is lighted and visible.
- Cover garage windows and permanently secure them, so thieves cannot see what you have in your garage or easily enter.
- Keep an eye out on your neighbor’s homes and yards. If you see someone who appears to be “casing” property call 911 immediately.
- Get to know your neighbors. Form a block club so you can get to know one another and more easily share information.
- If you suspect someone is in your home, do not enter. Retreat and call 911.
Additional information about home security, personal safety and other crime prevention tips are available from Shun Tillman, the Seward Crime Prevention Specialist. shun.tillman@minneapolismn.gov 612-673-2846
