Home Burglaries Rise, More Than Double in 2010

Danvers may not have the violent crime rates of some of its larger neighbors – there hasn’t been a murder since 2006, eight to nine robberies a year are the norm and assaults have fluctuated within the town average the past three years – but the community of some 27,000 residents still has to deal with other types of crime.

One set of statistics are particularly concerned about is a dramatic rise in the number of home burglaries in 2010, coupled with a high year of car break-ins.  In fact, the number of break-ins to homes more than doubled, going from 31 in 2009 to 77 in 2010 – the usual range for the past five years was 28-41.

“That’s a high number. When someone’s house is broken in to that’s a serious offense,” said police spokesman Sgt. Robert Bettencourt.

Bettencourt said that through the diligent work of the department’s detectives, many of those cases have been resolved and the culprits caught. An underlying factor, however, appears to be driving the trend – the poor state of the economy, Bettencourt said. Reports from police say the high numbers of house break-ins are a regional issue.

Bettencourt noted that a number of burglary cases last year ended up being drug-related; desperate people often turn to desperate measures to obtain the money to feed their addiction. He added that the department doesn’t have a statistical analysis to empirically prove that point at this time, however.

As for car break-ins, detectives are also diligently working on that end to identify potential thievery rings in the area while police continually remind the public . It’s also a good idea to always lock your car doors and roll up the windows.

The department has been utilizing its Facebook and Twitter accounts lately to urge residents to do just that, pointing out that in 60 percent of car break-ins last year, the cars were left unlocked or the windows down.

The number of thefts last year was within the usual range over five years at 255 (the range is 185-286), but it’s “still a high number,” says Bettencourt.

“That seems to be something that has plagued us of late,” he said. Fitness clubs conveniently tucked off the highway, also appear to be convenient for thieves to quickly “smash and dash.”

Most other categories of theft or break-ins the department records for its annual report did see increases as well, but not at alarming levels, although the number of shoplifting cases continues to increase above the average.

Some good news was a reduction in the number of aggravated assault cases, down from 33 in 2009 to 23 last year. The usual range is 24-36.

Bettencourt, who is also the community relations officer, noted that the total calls for service police received were still below the average. Last year, they received 15,433 calls and 15,487 in 2009, while the average is 16,105. He also noted that four new neighborhood watches were started up last year and have been focusing on urging residents to call in more on suspicious activity and become proactive with neighborhood issues.

“We need more eyes and ears out there,” Bettencourt said.

The full 2010 annual report, which will contain much more detailed statistics and analysis, will be released to the public and posted on the police department’s Web site once it’s complete. The report is usually published by March 1, but was delayed due to the retirement and hiring of a new public safety analyst late last year. Bettencourt said the report should be complete by April 1.

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Editor’s Note: The total reported crimes for 2009 was 1,904, a 12 percent decrease from the year before. The final tally for 2010 was not yet available.