“A lot of these entries are what we call soft entries,” Stitzel said, “where they’re going in unlocked doors or windows that are half open.”
Many of the home break-ins occurred when the homeowners were sleeping, he said.
“They’re grabbing things from TVs to guns to money,” he said.
Residents should make sure to lock their doors and windows, he said, and close their garage doors.
“Unfortunately in today’s society we have to lock everything up and secure it well,” he said.
Stitzel believes the spike is due to increased drug use in the area, he said, especially heroin. German Twp. officers have stepped up patrols, he said, patrolling later and adding more shifts. But he wants the community to be on the lookout for suspects.
Last week a homeowner in the Beechwood Hills neighborhood of German Twp. reported a theft from their home overnight, he said.
Neighbors in Beechwood Hills are on high alert after the break-in, Tamra Mardovin said.
“It just makes you worry because it’s always been a safe place to be and you never thought that it would happen around here,” she said.
She’s been taking extra precautions, she said, like making sure to set her home security system and close the garage door when she’s home.
And everyone in the neighborhood looks out for each other, Resident Nicky Smith said.
“We’re constantly looking out for other people’s houses,” Smith said.
Anyone with information on the break-ins should call German Township Police at 937-964-9105.
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