The following was released by The Baltimore Shomrim Safety Patrol to the Baltimore Jewish Community:
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We are enduring a particularly bad run of robberies. There have been five home robberies in the last week alone that Shomrim is aware of. In all cases, a side or back door has been kicked in (regardless of deadbolts), windows are also a weak point. All the homes burgled either did not have alarms, or the alarms were not set.

The most popular things to steal (besides the contents of purses) are electronics – Xboxes, Ipads, Laptops, etc.

OFTEN, thieves check the front door before kicking in a door – they may knock and offer to sell cookies or some kind of a handyman service. If someone answers the door, they move on.
Within the past week, a local resident opened his door and declined to buy some cookies from someone who came from an Acura TL (blueish-green with tinted windows). His neighbor was robbed a few minutes later. If you see such a vehicle, or this kind of suspicious behavior, CALL 911 and Shomrim WITHOUT DELAY.

Police find thieves by comparing the serial numbers of stolen goods with the goods held by pawn shops. So we are urging everyone to WRITE DOWN, in a separate place, the Serial Numbers of everything like that. In the event that a theft occurs, the thieves (who are generally 15-20 years old) can be connected to the theft, arrested, and taken off our streets. This is not theoretical: Police are solving and clearing robberies this way.

To Summarize:
1: Write down the serial numbers of your electronics. Keep in a separate place. In the event of loss or theft, report to the police immediately. You may get your property back and make the community safer.
2: If you see suspicious vehicles, or people knocking on front doors, CALL 911 and Shomrim immediately!
3: Protect your homes. Use alarms. Consider visible camera systems (widely available), or Skybells. (http://www.skybell.com). Any of these systems costs much less than a break-in!

(YWN – Aliza Levine)