Burglar strike at several businesses

A rash of burglaries in Nevada have business people wondering what they can do to make their businesses less attractive to thieves. Some of the recent burglaries don't seem to be done by youths, who police say tend to tear up a property and stealing is really secondary to the thrill they get from breaking in. Nevada Police Department investigator Kevin Doyle says the recent string seems to be strictly about the money. "Kids usually do more damage. Whoever has done these are breaking in, getting the money and getting out." Two examples of that type of crime are a break-in at Vinyard's Farm and Home and a break-in at the Elks Lodge earlier this month. There are plenty of other examples. In a two-week period reports were received of nine break-ins and four thefts from autos. Items stolen included cash, video games, jewelry, cell phones, and a pistol. During the same two weeks, from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11, the Vernon County Sheriff's Office reported a burglary at the VFW, vandalism in Horton, a theft in Hume, property damage in Nevada, breaking and entering in Sheldon, a theft in Sheldon, a burglary in Walker and a half dozen other incidents involving some sort of a break-in or theft. Doyle says there isn't any one precaution that will deter thieves but a combination of factors will reduce the risk. "One of the best things a business can do is to install a good alarm system. An alarm will make a person think twice about breaking in. A series of good video cameras with good definition with a machine secured where it is not accessible so a tape will be available to help identify the thieves. They have to be good cameras, a bad picture isn't going to help us." Doyle said the number one way to deter someone from breaking in is to remove temptation. "The number one thing to protect yourself is to deposit money every night, and make it well known you don't have money on hand overnight. No one wants to spend 30 or 40 minutes breaking into a place for a few dollars. If there is a couple of thousand dollars that makes it worthwhile for a thief." In order to encourage businesses to feel more secure while transporting money after closing, the Nevada Police Department will escort business people to the bank to ensure their safety. "We've had this program for as long as I've been here, around 18 years, and there are only a few businesses who take advantage of it. We're happy to do it and all the business person has to do is ask," Doyle said. Something that works for both businesses and residences alike is to install motion detector lights around back doors and other areas susceptible to surreptitious entry. "Lighting is important, put a light with a motion detector by your back door and whenever anyone approaches it will light up and that will do a lot to drive away potential burglars. Thieves don't like being seen and that will make them go somewhere else." For residences, Doyle suggests several things to make them less of a target. "Make sure you have a proper lock on your door. If there is a big window or several small ones, install a lock that requires a key on both the inside and outside. A thief can't break the window and just unlock the door." To be of any use, a lock has to be used. "The number one suggestion I have is to lock your doors. It's still amazing to me the number of people who don't lock house doors and leave cars unlocked with the keys in them. That's just inviting trouble," Doyle said. Doyle praised Nevadans, who he said have shown themselves to really shine in an emergency. "Nevada has an excellent record of pulling together when there is an emergency, like when the microburst hit. We need more citizen involvement when it isn't an actual emergency," he said. One way to to do that is through a neighborhood watch, whether it's through a formal organization or just neighbors looking out for one another. "Watch your neighborhood and have your neighbors watch. If there is someone unusual call us, we'll check it out. Just having a police presence in a neighborhood deters crime, that's why our cars are painted the way they are, so they will be easily seen." He added,"We need more nosey neighbors willing to call us, they don't even have to leave their names -- though we would like to have them. We just need to go back to the days when there wasn't so much of an I mentality. The best way to stop worrying about yourself is to have someone worrying about you." Doyle said the department is very willing to help citizens who would like to set up a neighborhood watch committee. "If anyone thinks they might be interested they can call us. Jimmie Dye is the officer who handles that and he's available for groups to call on."