news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Why is one house or neighborhood a target for criminals while others are left alone and unscathed? It’s a million dollar question that police say they simply don’t have an answer to.

But no matter where you  live, police say crime is bound to happen — and the best defense is to prepare for the worst and make your home less of a target.

Much attention has been given to a recent spate of break-ins in New Irving Park and surrounding areas in the north-central part of the city. But the problem also plagues east Greensboro, the site of 201 of the city’s 541 break-ins from Sept. 1 to Oct. 19.

“It all boils down to opportunity,” said Sgt. E.S. Allen, with the police department’s eastern division community resource team.

“Because we have a lot of daytime burglaries, I think it’s a matter of knowing ... the most opportune time when people are gone to work.”

The break-ins have hit just about every neighborhood citywide as well, with reports coming in from Hamilton Forest, Green Valley and Fairview Homes, among many others.

In east Greensboro, residents in the Glendale Hills area along the Phillips Avenue corridor, Eastside Park and Dudley Heights have been hit particularly hard, according to police data.

Flat-screen TVs are a hot item for thieves, in addition to jewelry, computers and video gaming systems.

“Sometimes, it depends on how much time the suspect has in the home if they are going to rummage through drawers, go through closets and find something extra,” Allen said. “Most of the time they are in and they are out.”

Police have said they believe a team of criminals is likely hitting the New Irving Park area with precision, communicating with one another as they hit home after home.

Most others may be someone looking to make a quick buck by selling someone’s valuables or a seasoned thief who might be part of a larger enterprise.

“There is no particular set that you can say that one is more prevalent than another in the rash we are seeing citywide,” Allen said. “It’s likely an assortment of both.”

Much of the time with home burglaries, police say the person is unemployed and has a criminal background that includes previous breaking and entering charges.

Many officers say that if a thief is determined to get into your home, he will, but the harder you can make it the less you are likely to be a target.

“There are three things you want to do to target-harden your home — you want to deny, deter and delay the intruders,” said Sgt. Bud Blaylock. “If you can deny them entry, you’ve won.”

To deny or delay entry, Blaylock said, residents should strengthen points of entry into a home by using deadbolt locks and using longer screws on the strike plate on doors.

Both precautions make a door harder to kick in.

Deterring criminals can be as simple as knowing your neighbors and looking out for one another, having an audible burglary alarm, installing better lighting and trimming back vegetation or eliminating places someone could hide.

“No one is immune,” Allen said.

 “To say why one particular neighborhood is being hit — you can’t really put your finger on it. It’s a crime of opportunity more than anything.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com