Police are asking the community to report suspicious vehicles or people in their neighborhoods, including license plate numbers, physical descriptions of the suspicious people and a direction of travel for responding officers.
PRINCETON—Princeton police continue urging residents to turn alarm systems on, be wary of unknown visitors and remain cautious in light of a string of residential daytime burglaries in unoccupied homes throughout the town and surrounding areas, police said.
“In five weeks, we’ve experienced six residential burglaries. Some were with forced entry and some were broken doors and open windows. The majority were that way, and they’re all in the daytime when the home is unoccupied," Police Captain Nick Sutter told council at its meeting Monday night when giving his monthly police report.
Police are asking the community to report suspicious vehicles or people in their neighborhoods, including license plate numbers, physical descriptions of the suspicious people and a direction of travel for responding officers.
"It’s not just one area of town that this is occurring. It’s spread out. We are working some leads in the case,” Sutter said. “The thing that we wanted to get out is to be aware of your home and make sure it’s locked and everything is secure.”
To determine if someone is home, burglars often knock on residents’ front doors, Sutter said.
Occupied houses and those that appear to be occupied with cars parked in the driveway or radios and televisions left on inside, are generally not targeted during daytime hours.
Common excuses used by suspects include asking for directions, saying they are looking for a lost pet or pretending to be door-to-door salesmen. Jewelry and silver are items most targeted, Sutter said.
If they find the home is unoccupied, suspects generally walk to the back of the house and use unlocked doors and windows to gain entry, Sutter said.
For more information, contact the Princeton Police Department at (609) 921-2100. In the event of an emergency, call 9-1-1.
Contact Nicole Mulvaney at nmulvaney@njtimes.com.
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