Guarding Against Home Burglaries

Patti Abbott-Bozzo emailed Patch yesterday to tell us that her neighbor's house had been burglarized on Tuesday.

"Her son came home from school around 3 p.m. and discovered that the house had been burglarized." Abbott-Bozzo was wondering if Patch had more information.

We checked in with Maplewood Police Captain Paul Conlon and he gave us this report:

A resident of Sommer Avenue reported to Maplewood Police that between 8:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. an unknown actor entered into her home and removed a Sony Playstation and game cartridges, two Dell laptop computers and some jewelry from the bedrooms. Detectives were unable to determine a point of entry for the burglary due to doors and windows being left unsecured when the home was vacant for the day.

Abbott-Bozzo also heard back from Maplewood Chief of Police Robert Cimino. Cimino explained that he could not divulge information related to an investigation, but he did have suggestions for guarding against home burglary:

• have an alarm — and use it
• keep doors and windows locked
• keep the front of home lit in evening
• let a neighbor know when you are going to be away for any length of time.

And, of course, report all crimes.

So there you have it. Be safe, Maplewood.