The
town of Darien continues to experience an increase in overnight-hour burglaries
into unlocked motor vehicles. This trend is not isolated to Darien as the
majority of towns and cities in Fairfield County, and the State of Connecticut,
continue to experience these incidents at increasing rates. Many of these
crimes are perpetrated by juvenile offenders who, when caught, inform police
officers that it is common knowledge that towns like Darien are target-rich
environments.
A
more recent trend in Fairfield County is the occurrence of residential
burglaries (the entry into, and intent to commit crime in, a residence)
committed in conjunction with the ongoing motor vehicle burglaries. Last night
(overnight hours of January 9th, 2019 to January 10th,
2019) two such incidents occurred in the Town of Darien.
In
one incident, a resident was awoken to the sound of their car being stolen. The
resident informed officers that the vehicle had been left unlocked with the
keys inside. In addition, the suspect struck the second vehicle parked in the
driveway in the commission of the theft.
In another
incident, a resident was awoken to a sound they believed to be a family member
arriving home. As the resident exited their bedroom, they observed an intruder
in their home. Upon seeing the homeowner, the intruder immediately exited the
home. It would later be determined that the intruder had ransacked parts of the
residence and taken several items. Additionally, both vehicles in the driveway
had been entered. The homeowner informed officers that both the door to her
residence where the intruder gained access, and her vehicles, had been left
unlocked.
Several
Motor Vehicle burglaries were discovered and reported this morning, January 10th,
2019.
In
the overwhelming majority of these incidents, the vehicles and/or residences
were left unlocked. The Darien Police Department continues to encourage
residents to make themselves a “hard target” by simply locking their vehicle
and/or residence. With the apparent increase in residential burglaries in
Fairfield County, we don’t want Darien to be known as an easy target.
The
Darien Police Department remains committed to aggressively investigating the
criminals who commit these crimes, but our greater concern is for the safety
and security of our residents. We once again ask for Darien residents to take
proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of being a victim of a burglary. Examples
of simple steps:
·
Lock Your Vehicle
·
Remove the keys (in particular proximity keys) when
exiting your vehicle
·
Remove attractive valuables from your vehicle when
exiting
·
Do not store proximity keys in an area close to the
associated vehicle
·
Lock your Residence
·
If applicable, arm your home security system (or
consider installation)
·
Consider the installation of security cameras
·
Keep valuables away from doors/windows in your
residence
If your residence has a
security camera system, and it records anything out of the ordinary, please
contact the Darien Police. Even if you are not the victim of a crime, you may
have footage that is of interest to investigators.
The suspects that commit these
crimes are often involved in other, more serious crimes. Vehicles stolen in
Darien have been involved in more serious incidents in Fairfield County. By
working together, we can make Darien less attractive to those who wish to come
to our town and commit these dangerous acts.
As always, if you have
concerns, information about an incident, or are the victim of a crime, please
don’t hesitate to contact us.
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