Chestertown Police Chief Adrian Baker met with the community in a packed open meeting at Town Hall on Thursday, July 3. Indicating that he felt the investigation was heading in a productive direction, Baker offered some tips about how to protect homes from these types of break-ins.
Affiliate law enforcement agencies are also assisting Chestertown Police and Baker requests help from residents who can keep an eye on their neighbor’s property or report any unusual activity. Mayor Cerino encouraged the audience to sign up to become part of “neighborhood watch” system. Email addresses would offer a quick way for both the community and the police to offer information to each other. For those who missed the meeting, contact information to sign-up will be published this week.
Critical among considerations to “harden the target” against burglaries—18 of them since June 15—are the elements of time, noise and lights. Time refers to the predictability of the homeowner’s schedule (burglars look for patterns of vulnerability) and ‘noise” refers to idea of making a home appear or sound active (radios, tvs left on). Also, if a house has no light on inside or out, it is a more inviting target.
Chief Baker said that while 911 is always available, residents may call the Police Department directly at 410-778-1800 to report a burglary, theft or suspicious activity. After hours calls are patched through to receptionists for police assistance.
The following are two raw clips of the meeting for those who were unable to attend.
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