Hollister
– Burglaries rose sharply in Hollister over the past six
months.
Hollister – Burglaries rose sharply in Hollister over the past six months.
Hollister has averaged 35 burglaries a month since the beginning of September, an increase of 76 percent compared to the same six-month period a year earlier, according to Hollister Police Department records.
The trend dates back more than two years. From January of 2005 to May of 2006, Hollister averaged about 17 burglaries a month. That number increased to 26 per month during the summer months of 2006. And the numbers continue to climb into 2007.
In December, 49 burglaries were reported, 35 of which were residential, police said. There were 35 burglaries in January and 32 in February.
Hollister Police Department officials said they do not know what is causing the spike in burglaries.
Officer Rosie Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department recommends locking doors and windows to prevent what is often a crime of opportunity.
The burglaries over the past six months have occurred throughout the city, with electronics and jewelry making up the majority of the burglars’ loot, she said.
Capt. Bob Brooks said he encourages neighbors to get to know each other and consider beginning a neighborhood watch effort.
Some Hollister neighbors have taken Brooks’ advice to heart. One group of neighbors on Somme Avenue even caught a man attempting to burglarize a home in early February.
“That’s basically neighborhood watch in action,” Brooks said. But, he added, “as a police department, we don’t necessarily want people chasing felons through the street.”
Jeremy and Elizabeth Dirks, who live on Somme Avenue, said they have made a point of trying to get to know their neighbors better after their home was targeted twice in the past two months by burglars.
“Six months ago I wouldn’t have talked to my neighbors,” Jeremy Dirks said. “I just worked and came home.”
Dirks said that after installing an alarm, seeing more lighting on his neighbors’ homes and knowing others are on the lookout, he and his wife feel safer.
The Somme Avenue neighbors haven’t started a formal neighborhood watch group, but they have gotten to know each other better.
“We had beers together a couple of times in our garages,” Dirks said. “It brought us closer together.”
When strangers come into the neighborhood, Dirks said, he doesn’t hesitate to ask them who they are.
“We just have to quit being so naive in this day and age,” Dirks said.
Due to budget cuts, the Hollister Police Department does not have adequate resources to hold neighborhood watch meetings on a regular basis, Brooks said. However, if neighbors wish to start a neighborhood watch group, the police department will come out and show them the basics, he said.
Once the setup is complete, the group is on their own, Brooks said.
“The onus has to stay with that group of neighbors,” he said.
But police continue to investigate the burglaries, Betanio said.
Detectives are collecting evidence from homes that have been burglarized, including fingerprints, she said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
