Yes, Sedona is a small town, but no, it is not safe to leave doors unlocked, windows down or keys in the ignition.
In the past two months more than $30,000 of cash, tools, jewelry, CDs and the like have
been stolen from homes, vehicles and businesses in Sedona.
“A lot of our crimes here are crimes of opportunity,” Sedona Police Department’s Cmdr. Ron Wheeler said. “Doors not locked, windows left open, things that make it easy for amateurs to make you a victim.”
By Alison Ecklund
Yes, Sedona is a small town, but no, it is not safe to leave doors unlocked, windows down or keys in the ignition.
In the past two months more than $30,000 of cash, tools, jewelry, CDs and the like have
been stolen from homes, vehicles and businesses in Sedona.
“A lot of our crimes here are crimes of opportunity,” Sedona Police Department’s Cmdr. Ron Wheeler said. “Doors not locked, windows left open, things that make it easy for amateurs to make you a victim.”
Since November, SPD has responded to seven vehicle burglaries, four businesses broken into and eight homes reported burglarized — although two of the homeowners were only reporting possible signs of attempted break-ins and nothing stolen.
A few of the residential burglaries have occurred in Uptown, but most in West Sedona where there are more exits, Wheeler said.
Cameras, iPods, laptops, CDs, tools, clothes and cash were reported stolen from vehicles and the most popular item stolen from homes was jewelry, followed by cash.
On Dec. 20, two Sedona teens broke into two businesses, four cars and even stole a car before being caught by SPD hours later.
In an effort to fight the crime, Sgt. Lucas Wilcoxson initiated a new case management system that provides more follow-up for burglary victims.
Under the new system, when detectives run out of leads, they inform victims that their cases will be “closed” until they provide investigators with more information.
Wilcoxson also provides officers with an updated map each month, highlighting points of burglaries and dates and times, so patrol officers know where to focus their patrols.
SPD believes some of the recent burglaries are tied to a certain group and is working with other Northern Arizona agencies to nab them.
The particular group is looking for people who aren’t home, Wilcoxson said.
“It’s a quick in and out,” he said. “A lot of times people don’t even know they’ve been burglarized. Sometimes they’ve just gone out for dinner.”
The best way to avoid being victim of a vehicle burglary is to hide your valuables and lock your cars, Wilcoxson said.
“So many people leave their cars unlocked and their keys in their cars. Half the people don’t even lock their homes. We have people tell us all the time ‘There’s no crime here,’” he said.
His list of tips for protecting your home is longer, but most of all, “Look like you’re home,” he said.
If you’re on vacation, have timed lights go on at different times throughout the house, tell your neighbors you’ll be gone so they can report suspicious activity and get your mail, newspapers and door flyers.
SPD’s Community Awareness Team is available to survey residents’ homes for free to offer low-cost to no-cost home improvement tips on securing homes.
“We can’t burglar-proof your house, but we can help,” Wilcoxson said, by checking if a power fuse is in a secure place; if landscaping provides a place for burglars to work without being seen; or if garden tools are left out for burglars to use.
Preventing burglaries is a community effort, he said.
“If the community sees something is not right in their neighborhood, they need to call us,” Wilcoxson said. “A lot of people don’t do anything. They think someone else will.”
If patrol officers see a pool maintenance truck in someone’s driveway, they’ll think someone is getting their pool cleaned. If their neighbor sees the pool truck in that same driveway, he or she knows they don’t have a pool — that’s the difference, he said.
