Crime Watch: Open Garages Have Led to Spike in Residential Burglaries, Sheriff's Office Says

From Dep. Chris DePolis, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office:

Recently, there has been a spike in the number of residential burglaries in District I  (the area west Lutz, Northdale and the northern Carrollwood Village).

A majority of these incidents resulted in some form of theft and can be largely attributed to the residences' garages being left open or unattended. Incidents as recent as Wednesday involved the theft of multiple bicycles from open garages in both Heritage Harbor and Calusa Trace subdivisions, in Lutz.

The Hillsborough Country Sheriff's Office would like urge everyone in the area to remain extra vigilant and remember to follow good crime preventative and residential security practices, such as:

 *   Keep your garage door closed, when the garage is not in use. If the garage is in use, never leave your garage left unattended.
 *   Be sure to lock any doors that lead from the garage to the interior of your residence or set your residential alarm to "chime" if that door is opened.
 *   Lock your car doors! If you park your car in the driveway, hide and secure your garage door openers in the glove box and lock it.
 *   Secure any valuable items that you keep in your garage (bicycles, yard tools, golf clubs, etc.) Try to keep these items out of site whenever the garage is open by keeping them covered up and/or otherwise concealed.
 *   Be neighborly and spread the word! If you see that your next door neighbor or someone else on your street has left their garage door open, please let them know about it and urge them to be cautious. Nine times out of 10, they just forgot to close the door.
 *   Be aware of any suspicious persons, vehicles, or activity in the neighborhood and immediately report it to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Non-emergency dispatch, (813) 247-8200. In the event of an emergency or a crime-in-progress, please dial 911.

Anyone with any tips, leads, or further information regarding these or other incidents in the area should please contact the District I Latent Investigations Unit, Detective A. Reichard, at (813) 247-0646; or contact the area's Community Resource Deputy (CRD), Deputy Ben Stambaugh, at (813) 264-8979.

Or anyone with any tips, leads, or further information that would like to remain anonymous, can contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS to submit an anonymous tip by phone or text. You can also submit a tip online at www.crimestopperstb.com<http://www.crimestopperstb.com/>.