House Burglaries Were Up in May

House break-ins have risen sharply in the neighborhood. That is what residents who attended Wednesday's monthly PSA 511 meeting learned. "There were eight burglaries in the last month in the PSA 511 area," said Renato Caldwell, the police lieutenant for 511.

Most of incidents happened on the 1100 block of Maryland Avenue, the 400 block of 11th Street and the 1100 block of D Street. In almost all the incidents, the burglar used a crowbar to pry open the front door and then stole jewelry and other valuables. Most of the incidents occurred in the afternoon, when victims were not at home. The burglar is still at large.

The number of burglaries in May was double the number that occurred in any previous month this year. According to Lt. Caldwell, there were two burglaries in April, four in March, two in February and two in January.

Lt. Caldwell and other officers suggested the following to keep your home from being burglarized: 1) get an alarm system that is connected to a central monitoring and alerting system; 2) leave some lights on inside your house while you are away; 3) install motion-activated lights on the outside of your house, especially near alleyways; 4) cut bushes low around your house to eliminate hideouts; 5) know your neighbors and report suspicious activities to police. Be specific about the appearance of the suspect.

Car theft was also on the rise, Lt. Caldwell warned.

To help neighbors get to know each other, police officers are organizing a "PSA 511 Community Day Celebration" — a block-party-style gathering, with food and entertainment. The gathering will start around 5 p.m. on Monday, July 28. It is tentatively scheduled to take place on 12th Street between C and D.

If you have any questions regarding the house burglaries or auto thefts, or if you would like to help out with the Community Day events, e-mail Lt. Caldwell at rcaldwel@mpdc.org or call him at 727-4478. §