Break-ins Spike This Year in Milton

Milton has experienced significantly more residential and vehicle break-ins so far this year than last, a trend that Police Chief Richard Wells said is regional but is also made worse by residents not locking their doors.

Wells shared crime data from the first six months of the year with the Board of Selectmen Wednesday night. The data showed that there have been 75 vehicle break-ins so far in 2013, and already 13 in July, up from 26 in the first six months of 2012.

GPS devices, iPads and iPhones are common items stolen, Wells said, as part of what is a low-risk crime. Perpetrators try vehicle doors and get into unlocked vehicles, turning off overheads lights and hiding when people drive by. 

The vast majority of these break-ins would not happen if the vehicle doors were locked, Wells said. A car alarm going off creates a much higher risk.

"Please just lock your doors," Wells said.

The same can be said for home break-ins. Those are happening primarily during the day when homeowners are at work. Empty homes with unlocked back doors or only screen doors blocking entry are prime targets, Wells said. And 99 percent of the cases in which busts occur involve heroin or prescription pain killer addictions.

There were 45 residential break-ins during the first half of 2013, up from 27 in 2012. There were a total of 69 residential break-ins in both 2012 and 2011. Last year, the break-ins occurred on 44 different streets.

"You'd be shocked to see how many involve an open screen, an unlocked door," Wells said.