APD Foothills Crime Trends for the Week: 3/17 to 3/20/14

From APD:

Dear Foothills Area Command NA/HOAs, Neighborhood Watch Block Captains, Crime Free Multi-Housing partners, and community leaders,

Here is some helpful information on crime I am seeing in the Foothills Area Command.

Neighborhood Watch:
I’d like to welcome our latest Neighborhood Watch group – the citizens on the 700-block of Marcella! We had a fun meeting and were greeted with a colorful sidewalk chalk “invitation” to the Neighborhood Watch meeting that was drawn by our host on her driveway. This was a great idea and can be used by other Neighborhood Watch groups for your gatherings, National Night Out, etc. If you are in a neighborhood with rules/covenants you will need to check first with your Board and of course, in all instances, have the home owner’s permission.

To start a Neighborhood Watch or re-ignite one that’s fizzled, call Steve Sink at 924-3600 and I’ll be your contact after you’ve talked to Steve.

Vandalism: I am receiving citizen information about vandalisms, but I am not seeing data on my end showing citizens are calling in these cases to APD 242-COPS (2677).

To file a police report, we have several options:
Call 242-COPS (2677) to have an officer dispatched
Call the Telephone Reporting Unit at 768-2030 to file a report over the telephone
Go to the APD page on the City of Albuquerque web site and follow the link to file a report on-line via www.cabq.gov/police
Go to any APD Substation to file a report in person

The data that a police report contains helps us identify where these incidents are occurring, offender descriptions, days of the week, times, and methods. We can be of better service to you with more data culled from police reports.

Residential Burglaries: I am seeing a trend of offenders breaking into homes at the back of the home and through unsecured doggie doors.

In addition to blocking off doggie doors that you no longer use, please fortify the back of your home by:
Removing items that can be used to break glass (French doors, sliding glass doors, windows)
Consider wrought iron or heavy-gauge steel storm doors
Install anti-lift/anti-slide locks mechanisms on sliding glass doors and windows

Neighbors: Be alert to strangers attempting to hop or climb side fences or gates to enter a neighbor’s back yard. This is a good example of a 242-COPS (2677) call regarding a suspicious person.

Auto Burglaries: I am continuing to see cases of auto burglary where the offender has an easy time of entering the target vehicle due to unlocked doors and windows not rolled up. Please remove valuables from the vehicle.
The cost to replace a broken vehicle window far outweighs the value of coins stolen out of a vehicle ash tray in a vehicle (happened this week in the Foothills). Having your tools stolen from your vehicle can make the difference of earning a living or not until the tools are replaced if the victim relies on tools for their job (happened last week in the Foothills). Wallets with IDs and credit cards stolen from vehicles can be used to commit fraud and identity theft (happened in the past 2 days in the Foothills). This is a crime of opportunity –prevent these incidents by securing your vehicles and removing your valuables from the vehicle.

Property Inventory: It’s a necessity to keep a property inventory of your belongings these days. Having your property’s make/model/serial number/unique engraving or markings available to include on the police report in the event of a burglary can aid with recovery and return of stolen property to victims. Please see the Leads on Line (digital inventory) portion of the APD page on our web site, www.cabq.gov/police.

Smith’s Grocery Store at 200 Tramway Community Event: Smith’s is hosting a community day this Saturday, March 22nd from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm featuring poison control information, barbeque lunches for sale, give-away drawings for customers and APD will be present throughout the event. Please support Smith’s and stop by for lunch and say hello to our APD staff at the event. Watch for McGruff! He loves ‘high-fives’ and hugs and is happy to pose for family photos with your child.

VIN Etching Event: Saturday, March 29th from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Target parking lot at 6100 Paseo Del Norte NE (at I-25).
This is a great way to prevent auto theft and is free. The etching is done by our APD Auto Theft detectives and you must bring current vehicle registration with you.


Crime Free Multi-Housing free owner/manager workshop: Our April 10th class has just filled; there will be another one offered October 9th this year. Contact me if you have questions about the Crime Free program or the workshop.
The Foothills Substation hosts this free day-long workshop for rental property owners and managers twice a year to reduce criminal activity on rental property and learn how to properly screen potential tenants.


Scams, Cons, Fraud and Identity Theft: How to Protect Yourself: The Foothills Substation will be hosting 3 more workshops this year in May, August and October. I will be sending you more information and instructions on the workshops at a later date.


Have a great weekend, and I hope you will stop by the Smith’s Grocery at 200 Tramway on Saturday!

Stay safe,
Jill Garcia, Crime Prevention Specialist
APD, Foothills Area Command
12800 Lomas Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
332-5240 Foothills Substation Front Desk (to request a periodic watch, to speak to a supervisor, to request a police report…)
323-4644 Crime Prevention, Crime Free Multi-Housing