Wilbraham homes and vehicles are target of break–ins

Sept. 16, 2020 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

WILBRAHAM – The Wilbraham Police Department (WPD) recently posted an advisory on their Facebook page regarding a string of breaking and enterings in town. In the eight weeks prior to the advisory, there had been 43 car break-ins, 10 house breaking and enterings, and six vehicles stolen or recovered.

 While car break-ins happen every year, “This year has been pretty unique in that there’s been a consistency,” said Sgt. Jeffrey Rudinski of the WPD. The break-ins have centered around the Oakland Street area and homeowners are reporting break-ins on average once per week, he said.

Rudinski said that the breaking and enterings are part of a larger pattern.

“It’s going on all over a lot of communities bordering Connecticut and all the way to Worcester County,” Rudinski said. “There’s obviously a lot of people involved,” he added, due to the large geographical area the crimes cover.

The break-ins have been “very opportunistic,” Rudinski said. He said nearly all of the property crimes have involved unlocked doors and windows. The sergeant stressed that people should always lock points of access in their homes and vehicles.

Rudinski also emphasized that if someone attempts to break into a home or car the owner should fill out a police report, regardless of whether anything was stolen. He said that if everyone who contacted the police regarding a vehicle break-in filed a report, the number of incidents would likely be “double or triple.”

While the presence of camera-equipped “smart” doorbells isn’t much of a deterrent, Rudinski said, criminals slip up and occasionally a face or car is caught on camera. “The more people that have them, the better it is for us,” he said.

Anyone with information about the break-ins or a smart doorbell that may have recorded something can call the WPD at 596-3837.

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