The recent theft of Lance Armstrong's bicycle is proof that nobody is immune to property crime – not Tour de France champions, not average citizens and not City Council members.
Councilman Steve Cohn was ripped off by a cat burglar in December while he and his family slept upstairs in their east Sacramento home.
For years he has helped constituents hit by burglaries, and then it happened to him.
"The subject of property crime comes up all the time at community meetings or in e-mails," said Cohn. "When somebody breaks into your home it is very disconcerting."
Burglary of homes or cars spawns frustration and fear, said Cohn. Constituents tell him not to cut police patrols and ask what they can do to prevent property crime.
The most recent annual FBI statistics show that property crime nationwide is down 2.5 percent. Some local law enforcement agencies also report that property crime declined last year.
But with the economy in recession, will property crime rise? In Yolo County, anecdotal testimony shows that one property crime category is already climbing.
"It seems that we were getting more residential burglaries during the day during December and January," said Sgt. Lance Faille with the Yolo County Sheriff's Department. "It could possibly be the economy."
Identity theft is also on the rise, he said, resulting in criminals charging or writing checks on accounts that are not their own.
Elk Grove officials also have noticed a spike in burglaries in January but it is unclear if a sour economy is the cause.
And one trend in property crime noticed by Elk Grove officers is the theft of Global Positioning Systems from vehicles. Thieves peek into cars and see the GPS attached to a dashboard, break in and then fence the high-priced item.
"You have to make it difficult for the criminal to do their job," said Elk Grove police Officer Chris Trim. "Dismount the GPS and put it in your purse or lock it in the trunk."
Last week, Roseville police arrested three men looking into parked vehicles at a hotel on North Sunrise Avenue.
In a criminal trifecta, they are alleged to have committed three types of property crime: electronic, vehicular and identity.
In their possession, along with alleged burglar tools, was a purloined BlackBerry, they were driving a stolen car and had a wallet belonging to somebody else, police said.
Roseville Police Public Information Officer Dee Dee Gunther said burglaries and auto thefts last year were down.
Gunther recommended that citizens record serial numbers of their possessions. However, unlike past years, it is not recommended that a person etch or write their Social Security or driver's license number on property.
"We discourage that these days because of identity theft," said Gunther. "We tell them to write their phone number or other numbers they can remember."
Sgt. Bryan Golmitz with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department said that burglaries have increased 13 percent.
"I think we could explain that with the increase in population," said Golmitz. "In recent years we have had an auto burglary problem, especially in the west end of the county – El Dorado Hills."
Golmitz said that in 2008, patrols were increased in El Dorado Hills.
In Sacramento County, burglaries were down 2.4 percent in the unincorporated area last year. Sgt. Tim Curran said it is hard to know exactly why burglaries decreased, but noted there were more motorcycle officers on the street in 2008.
"Motorcycle units had to help but they were one of the units that were recently dissolved," for budget reasons, said Curran.
Depending on the jurisdiction, reporting a crime can either be done by telephone, in person at a police service center or headquarters, or online.
Sacramento Police Sgt. Norm Leong said burglary calls do sometimes take some time to respond to, but victims can do the following when they are waiting: keep hands off smooth surfaces that the suspect may have touched in order to preserve fingerprints and write down a list of items taken, including value, a description and serial numbers.
Councilman Cohn's home was part of a string of 13 cat burglaries in the McKinley Park area between July and December 2008.
The burglar who got into Cohn's house took more than $5,000 in property, mainly electronic items such as televisions.
Police arrested Kenneth Johnson, 38, and have linked him to three of the burglaries through forensic evidence.
Cohn admits that for a run-of-the-mill burglary, an arrest may not occur and victims might get frustrated. He encouraged people to keep serial numbers, join neighborhood watch groups and report crime.
"They have very sharp detectives, but if people don't report crime they don't have the raw data to put people behind bars," said Cohn.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
