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Boise police report six-month increase in forced-entry home burglaries

Burglars are also increasingly gaining entry into homes whose owners have left the windows or doors unlocked.

BY BETHANN STEWART - bstewart@idahostatesman.com

Published: 12/25/08

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

BOISE HOME BURGLARY STATISTICS

Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 22, 89 home burglaries have been reported in Boise. Suspects forced entry in 60 of them.

Those stats compare to 106 home burglaries in all of November and December 2007. Suspects forced entry in 31 of them.

In 2008, 741 home burglaries have been reported as of Monday, compared to 712 for all of 2007.

The increase in home burglaries has come in the past six months of 2008.

Source: Boise Police Department

HOME SECURITY

Boise Police Department recommendations:

Keep your home well lit in front and back at all times. Consider leaving a radio on when you're not home.

Trim landscaping so doors and windows are easy to see and are not hidden.

If you're away for a period of time, have the post office or neighbors collect mail and newspapers. Have neighbors keep an extra eye on your home. Consider having a neighbor turn the inside lights on and off from time to time.

NEIGHBORHOOD SECURITY

Boise police suggest:

Call 9-1-1 anytime you see something potentially suspicious, even in the daylight. (Something that looks suspicious at 2 a.m. may not look suspicious at 2 p.m., but burglaries are happening in daylight.)

Watch out for your neighbors. Call police if you see something or someone suspicious near a neighbor's home, for example, an unfamiliar parked car with people sitting inside, or someone walking down the street looking into windows, or someone walking up to the home of a neighbor you know is on vacation.

Start a Neighborhood Watch group. Knowing your neighbors and knowing how to contact them at work or on vacation can be crucial to neighborhood safety. For more information, please call 577-3851.

The Boise Police Department reported Wednesday that there has been an increase in home burglaries over the past six months throughout the city, especially forced-entry burglaries during daylight hours.

"Home burglary is often a crime of opportunity," said Boise police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower. "It is troubling to officers ... this recent trend of forced entry."

Officers believe several separate groups or individuals are responsible.

One suspect who police believe was responsible for at least 30 home burglaries in Boise was arrested earlier this month.

Joshua M. Weigand, 31, of Boise was arrested after he called police to say someone was following him in his car.

But the man following Weigand, police said, was a neighbor of a 90-year-old woman who said she scared a burglar away from her home and called the neighbor, who then pursued the suspected burglar.

On Monday, Boise police arrested a 17-year-old boy when officers found him inside a home near Vista Avenue and Overland Road.

"He got in through an unlocked back door," Hightower said.

A resident had called police to report the teen had knocked on her door, and when she answered he asked a random question. When she closed the door, she watched the teen walk to a neighbor's home and knock on that door.

When the neighbor didn't answer, the woman watched the teen walk into the neighbor's back yard. She then called police, who were able to interrupt the burglary at about 2 p.m.

HOME BURGLARY TRENDS

Entry: unlocked doors and windows (August-October 2008).

Boise police received an increase in reports of home burglaries compared with the same time last year, and the first half of 2008, with a trend of suspects entering homes through unlocked doors or windows.

Forced entry (October-December 2008).

Police received an increase in reports of home burglaries, with suspects forcing or breaking open doors or windows.

Time of day: Most of the burglaries occurred during daylight hours.

Locations: Burglaries are occurring in both Bench and valley areas. However, officers are seeing more burglaries in the Maple Grove area, the Overland-Orchard area and the North End.

Bethann Stewart: 377-6393

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