When the Oakland Police report that burglaries have jumped 73% in our ‘hood, we should take notice.  These break-ins have increased in the past month or two, while all other crimes have held steady.

For the whole 94611 zip code, there’s no question things have gone awry.  Last time we looked, there were 43 burglaries in a three month period (early May- early August).  In the past two months, there were already 49 hits.

In Montclair’s Beat 13Z, south of Thornhill, there have been 23 burglaries in the past two months as compared to 18 during the three preceding months.  Beat 13Y, north of Thornhill, is also experiencing similar levels.  I’m not precisely sure where that 73% figure came from, but there’s no question about the trend.

While it’s unclear how many crooks are casing Montclair, they are good at what they do!  They stay under the radar and specifically enter homes to snatch easily re-sold items.  The burglars like electronics most of all, and also pick up construction materials.

Earlier this week, our police officers attended a neighborhood meeting and focused on these burglaries.  The cops haven’t received more calls, and they want us to communicate whenever we see anyone out-of-place.

Apparently post-burglary interviews sound something like this:  “Yes, I thought he looked suspicious but I didn’t want to be racist so I didn’t call.”  We seem to suffer from a bit of political correctness, and need to get over it.  If there are unfamiliar faces, then pick up the phone.

The cops may be able to connect the dots, when we provide additional eyes and ears.  Speaking of which, some neighbors do report local speeders and I recently received a fair warning from the Oakland Police.  We should be able to pay attention to other suspicious activities, too.