Athens City burglary reports have almost doubled this year, and the year hasn’t even ended.
Athens residents might want to check their locks twice; the Athens Police Department has seen its number of burglary reports nearly double compared to years past, and there are still more than two months to go until the end of 2014.
From Jan. 1 to Oct. 20, APD received 22 burglary reports — almost double the 13 reports the department received in 2013, according to documents obtained by The Post.
The number of burglaries reported from North Congress and West Washington streets account for about 41 percent of the total number of burglaries APD saw this year.
Out of the 22 burglaries in 2014, two were aggravated burglaries. There were no aggravated burglaries listed in the 2013 and 2012 burglary reports.
“The first six months of this year, we had double the number of complaints we had at the same time last year,” said APD Chief Tom Pyle. “It certainly troubled me.”
Rhonda Gibson, who lives on the west side of the city, said several of her neighbors have had their homes burglarized and items stolen.
Having served on an Athens County Grand Jury this past summer, Gibson said almost every case she heard was drug-related.
“I was aware the problem was bad, but I didn't realize how bad.” Gibson said. “Possibly with the desperation for money to support their drug habit has increased the burglaries.”
Pyle agreed, saying that burglary crimes tend to be directly related to drug trade.
“Typically, people are burglarizing and thieving to support a drug habit,” Pyle said.
The Ohio University Police Department has seen 17 burglaries on campus from Jan. 1 to Oct. 27 of 2014. The total loss estimated from those burglaries was $15,890, according to documents obtained by The Post.
Of the 17 reported burglaries, seven were listed to have taken place in Jefferson Hall on East Green.
The highest estimated loss from a single burglary was reportedly $3,050.
In 2013, OUPD received 18 burglary reports with a reported total loss of $9,671.
OU Police Chief Andrew Powers said he does not believe he has seen a significant rise in burglaries this year. Powers added that, in most cases, the people burglarizing a residence enter through unlocked doors.
“Anyone who believes his or her home has been burglarized should immediately call the police,” he said. “Don’t touch or move anything and avoid walking around in the residence until the police have arrived to provide direction.”
Lt. Tim Ryan, OUPD’s head of criminal investigations, said, based on his personal opinion, people who engage in the act of burglary on campus usually do it to get things they otherwise could not afford — mainly technological items — or to fund their drug addictions.
“Most burglaries are opportunistic,” Ryan said. “We don’t get a lot of broken doors or broken windows. It’s typically crimes of opportunity.”
Pyle recommended that Athens residents follow recommendations from the police department to keep their doors locked and to document any strange behavior they might see on their cell phones.
“We call that the ‘21st century crime watch,’” he said.
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