Police E-Alert warns of series of burglaries
August 15, 2008
by Ann Marie Fallon
If you signed up for the New Castle Police Department’s E-Alert System you received a message this week alerting you to the fact that the New Castle Police are investigating a number of burglaries of unoccupied homes within the last month.
Lt. Charles Ferry reports that since July of the New Castle Police Department has investigated five burglary reports. The burglaries occurred in the afternoon to late evening hours and are not connected to the other series of burglaries some months ago that focused on dead-end streets with quick access to the Saw Mill River Parkway.
The majority of the more recent burglaries have occurred on the east side of Town, in the hamlet of Chappaqua. “In each case,” read the E-Alert, “entry was made through a rear door that had been either left unlocked or forced open.”
“The burglarized houses had few or no lights on,” said Ferry. He also noted that some of the homes had a number of uncollected newspapers left in the driveway, or excessive mail in the mailbox—simple indicators to burglars that a house is not occupied.
Call police at 238-4422 or, in emergency, “911”
Detective Sgt. Wilson asks that New Castle residents report any suspicious person or vehicle to the New Castle police immediately at 238-4422 or, in an emergency, by dialing 911. “You should never,” he emphasized, “approach a suspicious person or vehicle. But, if possible, try and get a license plate number and provide that to the police.”
Protect against burglary
Lt. Ferry offered couple of reminder s for residents to heed when they plan to be away from home:
- Leave your home lighted or use a timer to cause lights to go on and off.
- Do not allow delivered newspapers and mail to accumulate. If you go away, stop mail delivery through the post office or arrange for someone to pick up your newspapers and mail.
- If you have an alarm, activate it.
- When going away register your home as a vacant house with New Castle Police Department.
The “Vacant House Check” is a free service available to all residents. You can pick up a form at the department’s headquarters at Town Hall or download it here. http://www.town.new-castle.ny.us/Dark%20House.pdf
Lt. Ferry encourages all residents to sign up for the New Castle Police Alert system; you can do so by going to http://www.newcastlepolice.org/join.
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