In what marks the tenth home break in since August, a home on Liberty Drive was burglarized yesterday. The Metrowest Daily News reports the burglars went to unusual lengths to make their way inside:
Police say someone used a ladder to gain access to a second-story window and burglarize a home on Liberty Drive Tuesday. Sgt. Timothy Slatkavitz said police responded to a call from the homeowner at 2 Liberty Drive at 2:47 p.m. and found a ladder propped up against the home on the back deck.
The ladder led to a second-floor window that was unlocked, Slatkavitz said. It was open when police arrived and jewelry had been stolen from the home, however other devices like electronics were left untouched, he said.
There aren’t many more details available on the crime, but you can read what more there is in this article by the MWDN.
c’mon people! no one and i mean no one saw a person walking around with a LADDER to the backside of the house? or through the woods? i literally slow down on the street that meets my house to see if anyone is behind my house as well as look out for my neighbors.
A LADDER
everyone might want to stop texting and pay attention to what is going on in their neighborhoods
I agree – unless the owner of the house left a ladder lying around in the back of the house, someone should have seen SOMETHING
Susan – you meant to say September . . . right? Unless this happened last month and not yesterday.
This sounds like an inside job. Someone who knew the second story window would be opened and where the jewelry was kept.
The burglary on Liberty Drive happened yesterday. It was the 10th break-in since August.
Dear Northsider and Peggy
Yes………..a LADDER and no one saw them. Believe it. I live in this very neighborhood and am for the most part a “stay at home” mom which means I am in and out of the neighborhood all day long and yes……no one saw.
Please understand or, at least, get some facts straight; 1) the home is at the END of the neighborhood, only STEPS away from Cordaville road, so it would have been easy to walk or drive away. 2) I also believe the ladder was owned by the home owners (and stored near their deck) so it wasn’t as if someone was walking around the neighborhood with a giant ladder. 3) The way the house is situated
(back of house to woods) and the shape of the house (back deck is nestled in
a corner of the back of the house) someone could have easily been hidden from first glance or view, even while on a ladder.
To insinuate that we are not paying attention and even texting while we drive through our own neighborhood is just plain wrong.
This is a neighborhood where there are a number of “stay at home” Moms, part time working Moms, “working from home” Dad’s and lots of people walking dogs all day long. This wasn’t a case of neighbors with their heads in the sand but instead was a pretty brazen break-in given the above mentioned as well as taking place right smack in the middle of the day.
This should be a wake-up call to ALL of us to try and be vigilant and observant, but more important; to lock up tight…..even 2nd story windows.
No blame games please…..we all feel terrible enough about our neighbor’s misfortune.
It is not uncommen for home owners to own a ladder. I own three of various lengths hanging on the underside of my deck. All three are chained and padlocked to the deck for just this reason.
There is also not a big mystery where the common person leaves there jewlery. I believe it has been established that these people are cash and carry, if it fits it there pockets they will take it. They don’t wan’t to walk down the street with laptops and large screen TV’s.
Our neighbors that got burgralized said they ransacked there bedrooms even looking under the mattresses and dumping dresser drawers. With this information my wife and have locked up any jewelry and such weeks ago. I believe I read it here as well that this was there MO.
Everyone please lock up your valuebles, If you can’t lock them up be creative in hiding them, under some insulation in the attic for example. If the profits dry up they have no reason to stay in business in town.
It’s really sad we all have to live this way, especially in our fine town of southborough, but it needs to be done.
I agree Alan that if we all hid/locked up our valuable jewelry that this would end. The problem is, I bet half the town still doesn’t know that this is happening. If I didn’t read this blog, I wouldn’t know.
I find the whole ladder thing completely bizarre, I can’t come up with any reason to use a ladder unless you have some inside knowledge to give you a reason. It’s just easier to break a first story window or pry open a door. It is like this person is bragging/showing off.
The article said it was unclear where the ladder came from, to me that means it wasn’t the homeowner’s. If true, this is a big clue, and hopefully it turns out to be a major mistake for this criminal. I wonder if there are any cameras anywhere pointed at southville rd.
This is incredible. I find it interesting the the burglary rate has seemingly increased ever since it was publicly stated by the Sboro police that they don’t have enough resources to patrol more to try to prevent these break-ins (I’m paraphrasing, but it was something to that effect.)
Has the police dept. made any recent comments about the increase of break-ins? Can they reallocate some resources to try to prevent these crimes – or are they in the process of doing so?
We have an alarm system so I feel pretty safe, but still I wonder – if this kind if crime is increasing, are we an easy target for more serious crimes? It’s a scary thought, but one that should be considered.
It is getting serious. This is the second wave of break-ins after the one occurred in the winter of 2010. One of our old neighbor’s front doors was smashed in that winter (cost more to repair and replace than the value of stolen goods). My family is concerned as we have kids coming home themself by school bus. I am wondering what steps the PD is taking to prevent further escalation. We do encountered aggressive security system agent’s marketing practices. I am not implying, just wondering, if there is any scare tactic involved as well.
These people may look like workers for some company , many are known to carry ladders on their trucks. Maybe a contractor, electrician, roofer, shingler, handy man type vehicle. These trucks with ladders would blend in perfectly.
Who manages the Police? Are we positive that they have been made to understand how important it is that they do their jobs a little better? How far do these crooks really travel to pawn this stolen merchandise? Frankly, I want better results.
Are other local neighborhoods and towns having similar break ins? It may not be only Southborough, but other areas along major throughways ? A popular way to commit thefts. Get on the highway, get off and then get out of town as quickly as possible.Snowfall will probably chase them away, as they won’t want to leave any clues where they come from.
There are only so many officers on duty. I’m betting they aren’t issued crystal balls with their gun belts.
southsider, It is important to realize the police are doing all they can to catch who ever is doing this. I’m sure they are quite aware of what is going on in the town they police in and Im sure it frustrates just as much about these burglaries. One thing you have to realize is that the police cannot guard every home in Southborough to prevent a burglary. They cannot predict which house will be broken into next, they are random events. They can only go by the clues that are left behind and any tips that come in from witnesses in the area that might have saw something suspicious. Catching these crooks does not just weigh on the police, its with the residents as well keeping an extra eye out for one another and helping to report anything suspcious to the Southborough PD.
southsider, I agree. But to get better results we as a town need to be willing to fund a police budget that has room to hire more officers. We always provide money to hire more teachers, maybe it is time to spread the wealth.
Resident,
I do agree that we need to think about the budget for PD. However, at this moment while the string of burglaries are happening, the PD is responsible for the safety of this town. Openly admitting the shorthands of PD personnel is inviting more thieves. It’s like saying “we will not do anything about it. Come here take whatever you want”. The PD have not issued any open warning to the residents and have not assured the town that they are doing anything they can to prevent further accidents (please correct me if I am not informed enough). What I heard most so far is “not enough budget to hire more officers”. It gives me the feeling of not willing to take responsibility. Yes, we need to deal with the budget and Yes we need to consider more officers. But right now, it’s time to talk about how to safeguard the town. Show us they are our guardian angel. Otherwise, a double even triple sized PD is no use to the town.
In an article today in the Metrowest the superintendent will be asking to increase staff at the “central office” in the near future. My assumption is that this is his office and they are talking about adding administrators. Maybe the issue is that he already has too many chiefs and not enough indians. I can’t wait to hear more on that one!
I haven’t yet been convinced that the town needs more officers, and I’m not convinced that more officers would make a difference with regard to the burglaries.
Here, here! I really wonder what our residents expect the police to be doing. Exactly as Neighbor in Liberty Drive explains, its very easy to break in to someone’s house no matter where it is, how vigilant people are, how locked up it is or what time of day it is, particularly in southborough with all the really big wooded lots.
Anyway, the real problem is this: http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/09/20/dorchester-man-suspected-burglaries-arraigned-charges-receiving-stolen-property/HG9zpCOu6h8tfiBVav7G5O/story.html
This guy had a 27-page wrap sheet and was still out and then committed 200 burglaries, despicable. If we want to throw our money somewhere, I vote for the prisons. People respond to incentives, and the incentive not to get locked up for years is a strong one (unless you want a sex change paid for), but instead these crooks know that if (when) they get caught they’ll be out in a few months.
In the meantime, if you got money for this cause, set up some hidden surveillance camera’s.
…right. And now it seems advisable to chain up our ladders, install sensors on our 2nd-floor windows, and withhold food from bowser to make him more aggressive. Sheesh. I remember when the Post Office in the center of town had a sign that said something to the effect of “Please don’t leave your car running when attending to Post Office business.” How times change.
I think the town is ultimately responsible.. The police have been asking for help and are more often then not, denied. Maybe we should be looking more at ourselves, the people who hold the police department accountable for every wink and nod, for not funding the department appropriately. And take care to keep our windows and doors locked.
The police dept has made announcements through many sources, not just this blog, in order to inform our citizens. They even held a public meeting at the Fire Dept a few weeks ago where about 25 citizens attended. One person suggested more cameras be placed around town and the dept responded that this would only help after the burglary. Perhaps if this was done in August, they would have better information to catch the criminals now. At the meeting, residents were told that other towns are having break-ins too and all police depts are coordinating their efforts.
Regardless, Southborough citizens have been advised to lock their homes and cars and put away their valuables. They have also been encouraged to call the Police hotline if they see anything suspicious.
Let’s remember that the one who cares the most about your stuff is YOU. If you don’t take caution and lock it up either by locking doors and windows or a bolted safe, then it can’t be that important. The police have said it over and over to be extra vigilant. If you aren’t then you don’t have anyone to blame but yourself. It is unfortunate that the community as a whole is going through this but it is a sign of the times.
Well, before we bash the PD anymore lets think about the staffing levels. I spoke to an officer the other day and I was appalled to find out that on most days there are only two police officers working the streets at one time. TWO!! For saftey reasons they most likely have to respond to every call/sitiuation together leaving the rest of the town without police. Our PD works very hard with what they are given to work with. There is a lot more going on in town than just the breaks and they are dealing with that as well. End point: we need more police officers and we need to vote to fund the PD!
ABSOLUTELY right Steve!