Half a dozen Princeton homes have been burglarized over the last five weeks. The Princeton Police Department is seeking the support and assistance of the Princeton community to solve the crimes.
Police are asking residents to call immediately to report any suspicious vehicles and people in neighborhoods. Get a description of any suspicious person or vehicle (including a license plate) and to note the direction of travel when the people leave for responding officers.
“This assistance should include notifying us immediately when you have an unknown person knock on your front door,” police said in an alert to residents this afternoon. “Be aware that the knocking on a front door is a means to determine whether or not a house is occupied.”
Some common excuses used by burglary suspects who are looking to see if a house is occupied are:
• “I’m looking for (insert name of person)”.
• “Do you know where (insert street) is located”?
• They also may insinuate that they are looking for a lost pet, or pretend to be a door-to-door salesman.
If there is no answer, the suspect(s) will usually walk to the back of the house and use unlocked doors or windows to gain entry, police said. Some windows and doors have been forced open. Jewelry and silver are usually the targets, police said.
There are ways you can assist with the attempt to recover your property in the event of a burglar, police said. Digital photos of your valuables that can be provided to the police department if you become victim to a residential burglary and theft are extremely helpful in assisting with identification if/when police come across your stolen property.
If you you have an alarm system, police ask that you make sure it is turned on. Occupied houses and those that appear to be occupied (cars parked in the driveway, radio or TV left on inside) are generally not targeted during daytime hours, police said.
Report any suspicious activity immediately to your local police department, or in the event of an emergency for an incident in progress, call 9-1-1.
Where were the houses located?
All over town, no targeted area.
It’s hard to tell – is this just general advice from the police, or is it what they believe is happening in connection with these burglaries? If it is what is happening, why not describe the people who are knocking on doors like this?
I wonder if the two burglars just caught in West Windsor were committing these crimes in Princeton too.