news-record.com

Of all the strategies to reduce home burglaries, one of the most effective may be for police to focus on likely suspects. Some burglars have committed the same crimes over and over again -- but without severe penalties.

Although Kinyan Cortez Bynum is only 21, he has a record of breaking and entering and larceny going back to 2006. He's served time in prison but was on probation while a rash of break-ins was occurring between Sept. 1 and Sept. 14, many of them in the New Irving Park neighborhood.

On Sept. 14, a Guilford County sheriff's deputy served Bynum with an order for arrest on a failure-to-appear charge, according to Sheriff's Office records. He was further charged with resisting, delaying and obstructing an officer and possession of a firearm by a felon. A few days later, probation violations were added to the charges. Then, on Oct. 6, Greensboro police charged him with nine counts of breaking and entering, eight counts of larceny and eight counts of possessing stolen property. On Oct. 15, he was charged with an additional breaking and entering and larceny. He's in the Guilford County jail under a large bond.

Break-ins in New Irving Park and elsewhere in the city have continued since Bynum's arrest. There's a brisk trade in stolen goods in Greensboro.

Residents have to take effective measures to secure their homes, with sturdy doors and windows, good locks, alarms and lighting. They should trim shrubbery that provides hiding places. They can get a dog. They definitely should talk with their neighbors or even form an association. People have to watch out for each other and trade information. They should communicate with police, reporting suspicious activity but also asking for advice.

Some keep loaded guns. They have a right to defend themselves in their homes, even with deadly force -- as an elderly Walnut Street resident did last week, fatally shooting an intruder. But they should know that firearms are a prime target for thieves and can do more harm than good if mishandled or left where children might reach them.

Police have to respond to any surge in crime by increasing patrols and stepping up investigations as much as they reasonably can, given limited resources. They can also zero in on known offenders living in the area. Probation officers can help by alerting police when they suspect clients are resuming illegal activities.

A sometimes-overlooked element of public safety is what happens in court. Bynum has avoided longer sentences in the past when multiple charges have been consolidated for judgment, or he's been given suspended sentences or put on probation.

With prisons overcrowded, there's reluctance to punish nonviolent offenders too severely, but residents pay a high price when career criminals remain free to break into one home after another.