CSKT Police Chief concerned about recent increase in burglaries

By B.L. Azure

PABLO — Small town or rural Montanans often leave homes unlocked and keys in their unlocked vehicles that often contain valuables, like women’s purses, in them. Not a good idea, said Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Police Department Chief Craige Couture. He suggests battening down the hatches or increase the risk that burglars will hone in on the tempting targets. The cause of his concern has been an up spike in home burglaries the last couple of months.

The winter months are usually a low period for home burglars; it could be that the weather keeps idle minds at bay and cozied up indoors at their own residences. However, this winter, the Tribal Police Department has noticed a definite uptick in the usually slow period.

Chief Couture said there were four home invasion burglaries so far this January and three in December. The majority of the recent burglaries have occurred in the southern portion of the Flathead Reservation, in the Mission and Jocko valleys.

“Last year, 2011, we didn’t have any burglaries in January,” Couture said Monday. “This year we already have had four reported and the month (January) isn’t over yet. In December we’ve had three reported for the total of seven in those months. That is a real concern to us because we don’t usually see that many during the winter months, which, through the years, have been slow burglary activity times.”

Couture said home burglars usually want to get in and get out quickly so they target items of worth that they can carry out individually or with the help of one or two accomplices. Electronic items bob to the top of stolen items in home invasion burglaries; they are usually small and relatively easy to convert to cash and/or drugs.

“They (burglars) like things that are easy to take and easy to get rid of,” Couture said. “They want the high-ticket items.”

The go-to high-ticket items for burglars include: jewelry, cash, firearms, televisions, video game machines and games, DVD players and DVDs, stereos and CDs, MP3 players and desktop and laptop computers.

Burglaries happen in communities and rural areas. Regardless of location, no home is immune from potential burglaries.

Couture said burglars target rural mailboxes in search of checks, credit cards, or bills with credit card information which is usually written on bills or banking statements.

Drugs are one key driver of home burglaries and the type of drugs used is also a driving factor.

“Most but not all burglaries are drug related. They want something they can get and do a quick turnover for drugs or cash to purchase drugs,” Couture said. “Methamphetamine use and higher incidents of burglaries go hand in hand.”

Couture said the biggest problem his department has with recovered stolen items is the lack of owners recording the serial numbers of the items.

“The majority of people don’t write down the serial numbers of high-ticket items like guns, video game machines, televisions and computers,” he said. “Without the recorded serial numbers it’s hard to find out who any recovered items belong to.”

Many times burglars or those who knowing purchase the stolen items often times sell them out of the area. In this area stolen items are often resold in Idaho or eastern Washington. That further complicates the ability of local law enforcement to quickly solve the crime.

“Writing down the serial numbers is an easy thing to do and it is an important thing to do,” Couture said. “If the stolen items have recorded serial numbers we can put them in a national data base. Then items sold in Spokane or elsewhere can be easily traced back to the rightful owner.”

It is also a good idea to photograph the high-ticket items and/or engrave the owner’s name and driver’s license number. Don’t ever put a social security number on the items. The photographing of valuables in their locations in the home is important for filing insurance claims. Make a few copies of the information and store them away.

Couture said there are many simple and inexpensive ways to lessen the risk of home burglaries.

Motion detectors with exterior lights make it less likely that a burglar will stick around when the lights go on. Eliminate easy entry by locking all windows and doors the homes. Beef up the entrance doors with deadbolt locks. Always lock the garage doors and vehicle doors regardless of location.

Dogs are very helpful in deterring burglars as is “Beware of Dog” signs.

“Dogs are automatic burglar alarms,” Couture said. “It doesn’t matter how big or small the dog, it’s the bark that’s important. That draws attention. Of course bigger dogs are more intimidating because the bite could be worse than the bark.”

Installing personal alarm systems on windows and doors. Magnetic contact alarms for windows and doors can be relatively inexpensive and purchased at places like Radio Shack.

“When the connection is broken they make an extremely loud noise that neighbors can hear and alert them that something is going on,” he said. “They are relatively inexpensive models that start around $20 or $30.”

More expensive routes such as professionally installed and monitored systems with alarms and cameras are also available for homeowners.

Automatic electricity control timers are also relatively inexpensive and well worth the price.

“Timers that randomly turn on and turn off lights, radios or televisions give the appearance that someone is home,” Couture said. “Barking dogs, indoor noise and random lighting sequence creates the impression that someone is home and that is a deterrence for burglars who want to get in and out fast unnoticed.”

He suggested good relationships with neighbors be they in town or in the country. Establishing a formal or informal neighborhood watch relationships in towns and rural areas is also a good preventive measure.

“It’s always a good idea to know your neighbor,” Couture said. “Let them know when you’ll be out of town and ask them to keep an eye on your property. It doesn’t cost anything.”

According to FBI statistics a home burglary is committed every 15.4 seconds in the United States.

Home burglary is defined as a non-confrontational property crime that occurs when the residents are away from their homes. The majority of home or apartment burglaries are committed during the daytime when most people are at work or school. The summer months of July and August have the most burglaries committed, while February has the fewest.

The typical burglar is more often than not a young male under the age of 25 years. About 70 percent of burglars use force to enter a home. However they prefer easy access through open or unlocked doors and windows.

Burglaries may seem random but usually they are not. Burglars will “case” a potential home to rob. They will look for an unoccupied home with easy access and with a lot of cover or blind spots with good escape routes.

The CSKT Police Department, in conjunction with county and municipal law enforcement officers on the Flathead Reservation, continues to investigate the burglaries.

To report a burglary or to provide information on burglaries, people can contact the CSKT PD dispatch at 675-4700. They can also contact the county sheriff’s offices in which they reside by dialing 911.