A look at the police log for the past weeks and months reveals a disturbing trend: an increase in burglaries of homes and vehicles. And some of the thieves are getting bolder, breaking into residences when the owners are home.

According to Harvard Detective Jack Izzo, it’s a trend not only in Harvard, but all the surrounding towns. “It’s happening everywhere,” he told the Press recently. He attributes the phenomenon to the sour economy. “There are a lot of people out of work,” he noted.

Harvard break-ins have netted thieves jewelry and electronic equipment—flat-screen TVs, computers, computer games, and GPS systems. Izzo said that the one thing most of the burglaries had in common was that homes and cars had been left unlocked.

Four break-ins were reported in June—some in homes, some in cars—on Depot, East Bare Hill, Slough, and Westcott roads. One occurred while the homeowner was in the shower. Thieves left when he went downstairs to investigate. One took place while the homeowner was gone for only an hour, shopping. In that short time, thieves made off with a large amount of jewelry.

In July, an apparent attempt to steal copper pipe from a vacant home on Depot Road failed when the pipes broke, flooding the basement and scaring thieves away. A GPS system was stolen from an unlocked car on Prospect Hill Road, and tools were stolen from the locked toolbox of a contractor doing work on Ayer Road. An unlocked home on Depot Road fell victim to thieves, who took a computer and computer games. A family member checking on an Ayer Road residence while owners were on vacation found the home had been broken into and several items taken. In late July a home on Bolton Road was burglarized during the night, while owners were sleeping. A day later a flat-screen TV was taken from an unlocked vehicle on Westcott Road.

Residents are understandably jumpy, and there has been a corresponding increase in reports of suspicious activity. However, Izzo noted, like some of the incidents that are reported, the reports themselves often have much in common: what people fail to report, and when they report suspicious incidents. Descriptions or plate numbers of suspicious-looking vehicles are seldom provided, he said, and frequently people wait before they call the police when something suspicious happens. In one recent case, a resident waited four days to report suspicions that items had been stolen from his home.
“We can’t stress enough that people should call right away when something suspicious happens,” Izzo said. And, he added, they should make every attempt to get license plate numbers and provide descriptions of vehicles and people that seem suspicious.

See the August 13 police log and police briefs for details on incidents reported during July and August.