TLHCA

Burglaries in First District

The following is a letter from Captain David R. Herbstreit of the Arlington County Police Department about burglaries in our area.

In the past two weeks there have been some burglaries in the northern part of the First Police District, specifically up by the Chain Bridge area. I wanted to make all of the neighborhoods aware of this and let you know that additional police patrols will are occurring in this area. In addition, detectives assigned to these cases are working them to identify suspect(s) and they have contacted Fairfax County Police but they said they have not had any similar burglaries in their area. Currently, we do not have any suspect(s) descriptions at this time. There may be as many as four burglaries that may be related.

Unfortunately, in some of the burglaries, the front door of the home was not secured. In others, the suspect(s) forced the front or rear door open and they may have occurred during the daylight hours. The main items stolen in these burglaries have been jewelry.I am requesting your help in getting the word out to your neighbors in an effort to help protect the neighborhood and catch the suspect(s). I would like to offer the following suggestions:

• * Immediately report to the police any suspicious persons in your neighborhood so we can check them out.
• * Secure your home even if you are away for only a short time. This will make it harder for the suspect(s) to enter your home and may create an opportunity for your neighbor to notice suspicious activity and report it.
• * Many homes have alarm systems and for one reason or another homeowners may choose not to use it. It would be advisable to use your alarm system now in an effort to scare away the suspect(s) and it may create an opportunity for your neighbor to notice suspicious activity, and report it. It will also increase the chances of the police to catch the suspect(s).
• * Lastly, I would strongly suggest that you secure your jewelry and cash in the unfortunate event of your home being burglarized.

The harder it is for suspect(s) to invade your neighborhood and homes the safer your neighborhood and property will be. I will let you know of any developments and I appreciate your help.

Captain David R. Herbstreit
Arlington County Police Department
1425 North Courthouse Road
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703.228.4062
dherbs@arlingtonva.us