Neighborhood crime

Recently we have seen an uptick in neighborhood crime both in our immediate Belwood, Belatos, Surmont, and adjacent areas here in east Los Gatos as well as the neighboring communities of Cambrian, Almaden, and Saratoga.  Specifically, a gang of 4 intruders has been hitting homes perceived to be unoccupied, often entering through back sliding doors, rummaging quickly for jewelry and cash, and getting away in under 10 minutes.

Where are the burglaries happening?

Most of Santa Clara County is using the City Protect crime map, but the Town of Los Gatos recently launched our crime info on a different platform, LGPD.CrimeGraphics.com.  It would be wise to check both sites since our community is so close to Cambrian and Almaden (as well as county pockets).

 

Los Gatos Monte Sereno crime map

 

The neighborhood crime info isn’t as thorough I would like. In recent weeks we had some attempted break ins by that gang of four near my house in which they got into backyards but didn’t get into the homes.  They moved swiftly and the police did, too – but were gone before they could be apprehended. Those attempted burglaries are not to be found on crime info website.

My recommendation is that you log onto Nextdoor at least once in awhile and check the crime activity in our part of Los Gatos in addition to checking the 2 websites linked above. Or if you have a Ring doorbell, the online Ring community also has good sharing of information. (I wonder if Nest similarly has online sharing?) If you have neighbors who aren’t on Nextdoor, fill them in if you read about an episode so that they can make their home safer and have more surveillance.

Many of the would be and successful burglaries appear to happen when it looks like no one is home. The thieves go into backyards and then often smash a sliding glass door to gain entry. It’s loud, and alarms may go off, but they leave fast and so far haven’t been caught.

If you have security cameras, you can register them with the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Department.

Thefts from cars: keep valuables, garage door openers out of your vehicles

Theft from VehiclesOn the Nextdoor neighborhood sharing site for Belwood and nearby east Los Gatos areas, a resident let members know that her automobile, which had been parked in her driveway, had been broken into sometime last night or early this morning.  That makes the 6th such incident in the immediate area in the last 6 months (the other five I found on CrimeReports.com). In each case, it seems the car or truck was parked either in the driveway or on the street in front of a house.

Most of the Surmont, Belgatos, Belwood, Harwood, Gemini Court, Alerche and nearby areas have houses with 2 car garages (sometimes 3) but often either more vehicles or not enough room in the garage to house everything, so it’s not unusual for cars and other vehicles to be parked outside overnight. Thieves may be looking for valuables but just as possibly could be searching for a way into your house via keys to the doors or garage door openers.  Please pack these items in and out with you and don’t leave them in the car!

To check out crime near your house at no cost, please visit http://www.CrimeReports.com and enter an address in the space up top for it.  The default time frame is very recent but if you go to the “dates” section, you can view issues going back as far as 6 months ago.  Also, please note that while there are 4 spots in the area identified as TV or theft from vehicle, some icons are for multiple issues and at least one of those includes a theft from vehicle.  You will find other thefts in the area too – please keep your home locked up and important items out of your front yard, driveway, etc.  As always, call 911 with suspicious behavior – and be safe!