Peaceful Boston Suburb Sees Burglaries Double - Crime Spotlight on Danvers, MA

It’s in the news all over the country: burglaries are up in many jurisdictions, and police are worried. The incidence of a break-in somewhere in the US is stubbornly stuck at about one burglary every 15 seconds, according to the FBI. Trends that I’ve noted:

• The state of the US economy is a major factor – hitting some areas harder than others
• Burglars are younger, but are often repeat offenders
• Feeding a drug habit is a leading cause of residential burglaries
• Intruders are increasingly breaking in during the day, when the home is more likely to be empty

In this recent crime statistics report from Danvers, MA, local police are alarmed at the recent spike in crime – and are committed to turning the trend around.

Danvers may not have the violent crime rates of some of its larger neighbors – there hasn’t been a murder since 2006, eight to nine robberies a year are the norm and assaults have fluctuated within the town average the past three years – but the community of some 27,000 residents still has to deal with other types of crime. One set of statistics Danvers police are particularly concerned about is a dramatic rise in the number of home burglaries in 2010.

Burglaries More than Double

In fact, the number of break-ins to homes more than doubled, going from 31 in 2009 to 77 in 2010. “That’s a high number. When someone’s house is broken in to that’s a serious offense,” said police spokesman Sgt. Robert Bettencourt. Bettencourt said that through the diligent work of the department’s detectives, many of those cases have been resolved and the culprits caught. An underlying factor, however, appears to be driving the trend – the poor state of the economy, Bettencourt said.

There’s the economy again – and it will take a long time before the economy is not a factor in residential crime.

Drugs and Vigilance

Bettencourt noted that a number of burglary cases last year ended up being drug-related; desperate people often turn to desperate measures to obtain the money to feed their addiction. He added that the department doesn’t have a statistical analysis to empirically prove that point at this time, however. He also noted that four new neighborhood watches were started up last year and have been focusing on urging residents to call in more on suspicious activity and become proactive with neighborhood issues. “We need more eyes and ears out there,” Bettencourt said.

As is often the case, and this is unfortunate, the police missed an opportunity here – and that is to recommend that homeowners add a monitored alarm system to increase their peace of mind. It’s been shown that homes with a monitored system are only one third as likely to be targeted as homes without that layer of protection – and a good system (with a loud internal siren) is a great deterrent to a thief who does gain entry. Here’s a good reminder on the most important things you can do to make your home more burglar resistant: FrontPoint’s own Top 10 Home Security Tips.

As experts in home security, we know the best deterrent is a monitored home alarm system – especially one with safer cellular monitoring and smarter interactive features. FrontPoint specializes in these systems: as the #1 rated alarm company in the US, that’s our commitment. From California to Texas to Florida to Danvers, MA, in thousands of cities and towns all across the US and Canada, FrontPoint is on the job.