Buffalo Grove police urge residents to be proactive to prevent burglaries

A few months after hosting a community meeting to discuss a rise in residential burglaries, Buffalo Grove police are warning residents to remain vigilant and keep their eyes open in their neighborhoods.

So far in 2016 there have been three residential burglaries and one attempted residential burglary, Deputy Chief of Operations Roy Bethge said. That number is typical for this time of the year.

"Statistically those numbers are insignificant, but if you're one of the affected people it's very significant," Bethge said.

In November, the village held a community forum with residents who were worried after there were four burglaries in three days on the north side of town.

This year, Bethge said, two burglaries and the attempt were on the north side of town as well, while the other was on the south side. The north side break-ins were not all in the same neighborhood, he said.

No one was home during any of the burglaries, all of which included forced entry or attempted forced entry, he said. It's not clear that the burglaries are related, though certain aspects - such as the theft of jewelry - are similar.

No one has been arrested, but Bethge said there are several steps residents can take to be proactive.

"Start with knowing your neighbors, knowing your neighborhood, knowing what's unusual," he said. "Realistically the only people who know what seems out of place are the people who live in the neighborhood."

Proper lighting on a house can also help, he said.

On the police end, officers have increased patrols and been briefed on what to look for when on the streets. Every case is assigned to an investigator until it is solved, Bethge added.

"Burglaries are high-profile crimes in a community like Buffalo Grove," he said.

Bethge said he stands by a recent study from Neighborhood Scout that ranked Buffalo Grove as one of the 20 safest cities in the country.

"When you think about when was the last time we had a significant violent crime against a person in Buffalo Grove, those things don't happen," he said. "We enjoy a great quality of life and I have no reservations about saying this is a safe place for families to live."