Bellaire police noticed a spike in home burglaries in January, and oddly enough, many of the crimes happened during the early evening instead of during normal work hours, said Community Resource Officer Tim Quimby.
Residents in January reported 11 home burglaries. In comparison, only three burglaries were reported so far in February. Eight of the January burglaries happened in the evening, from about 5 to 7 p.m., while two of the February crimes occurred in that time.
“Us having 10 or 11 burglaries like that is very uncommon,” Quimby said about the January numbers. “It’s very strange for them to be in the evening time. Usually the majority of our burglaries in the past have been in the day time.”
Police did catch one burglar who is accused of stealing items from a home under construction, but the other crimes are still under investigation. Quimby said it’s hard to say until police catch a suspect, but it’s possible some of the burglaries were related because of the times and similar methods of breaking into the homes.
Bellaire residents should be on the lookout for suspicious vehicles and people in their neighborhoods, and be prepared to call police if anything looks out of place, according to a police statement.
The statement said that many burglars knock on doors to determine whether residents are home. If someone answers, the criminals will make up a story and leave. But if no one is home, they will burglarize the property.
If residents do witness suspicious activity, they should note important details for police: a suspect’s height, weight, appearance and clothing, and a vehicle’s color, make, model and license plate number.
“We just wanted to get the word out so residents would know to keep an extra eye in that time,” Quimby said. “Don’t worry about calling us. Nothing is too small to call us for.”
