Officer Rodriguez,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions and offer your advice. I am forwarding your message to the rest of the Northfield neighborhood list, as well as another email forum that serves the surrounding neighborhoods.
Michelle
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "Rodriguez, Armando [APD]" < [at] >
To: Michelle < [at] >
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 3:18:37 PM
Subject: RE: [NNADL] Burglary Targets?
Northfield,
There is no data that would answer the specific questions asked is this message.
Some of the burglaries occurred because of unlocked windows or doors. Most of the burglaries had the front doors forced open most likely by a strong kick or several kicks.
Monitored burglar alarms are great. However, the burglars know that it takes several minutes for the alarm company to contact the police department and for an available police unit to be dispatched. The recent burglaries are basically smash and grabs. Smash the doors open and quickly grab whatever they can before they are noticed or the police arrive.
Reinforcing your exterior doors would be a good place to start improving the security of your houses. The Tx Insurance Code requires that all dead bolt locks have a minimum bolt throw of one inch. This inch must penetrate the strike plate. Getting reinforced strike plates would also help withstand a kick. Your local locksmith or door company is a good source of information on this subject. Also ensure that the strike plates are fastened with 3 inch security screws.
This will make the smash part of the burglary more difficult which could cause the burglar to make more noise and be noticed, or perhaps give up and move on to an easier target.
Please mark your belongings and keep a list of serial numbers. If you become a victim, this will make it easier for you to get your property back if recovered. This may also help in connecting a suspect with your burglary making it easier to file charges.
Another suggestion is to close your shades or blinds especially in the evening time when it is easy to see the property inside your house. This makes it easy for the would be burglar to “case” your house.
When your not home, make it appear that someone is. Maybe leave a small radio on. At nighttime leave a lamp and a radio on.
If your see something or someone in your neighborhood that just doesn’t look right, it’s probably not so please call 911
Of course nothing is guaranteed, but doing these small things may prevent you from being a target.
Also if anyone comes across any other safety ideas, please share with us all.
If you have any questions or comments please call or email me.
Ofc AJ Rodriguez #4414
Central West District Rep
512-974-4527
From: Michelle [mailto: [at] ]
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 7:24 PM
To: louis redden; [at] ; Rodriguez, Armando [APD]
Subject: Re: [NNADL] Burglary Targets?
Officer Rodriguez,
Does APD have any data you can share with the Northfield neighborhood regarding the recent burglaries? Info like a profile of the suspects, common features of the targeted homes, etc? One of our residents has questions along those lines (below).
Thank you for your help.
Michelle
----- Original Message ----
From: louis redden < [at] >
To: [at]
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 10:15:15 AM
Subject: [NNADL] Burglary Targets?
What causes the burglars to choose one house over another?
Just as a lightening rod doesn't try to 'conduct' powerful bolts of
electricity into the ground but instead discharges the earth to
create a little non-target zone, we'd like to learn how to make our
home more of a non-target for opportunistic burglars instead of ever
having to 'confront' them.
Perhaps more details about the burgled houses would help us discover
who the perpetrators are and how they choose their targets.
Apparently, in one recent case, a working, posted, security alarm
system wasn't a deterrent. Being on a well
traveled street does not
appear to be a good deterrent either. What is a deterrent?
If a door got kicked in to steal easily pawned electronics, were any
of the items visible thru door glass or windows? If not visible, how
did the burglars know a B+E was worth the risk at that house? (Do
doors of houses with nothing to steal get kicked in?) The more we
learn about our burglars - amateur or pro, focused or random - the
better we can thwart and ultimately stop them.
For instance, were houses with deadbolts already installed (visible
from outside) burgled? If so, were the deadbolts compromised, as Don
Smith's 'thekeyshop' link in his 11/14 posting illustrates so well?
Were there any signs of door busting tools having been used? Facts
about exactly how the doors were broken would help us all.
Louis &
Pam
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