MILL CREEK – Police are investigating a recent resurgence of home burglaries in Mill Creek neighborhoods.
Thieves broke into 26 homes in September and October, matching the total number of residential burglaries during the previous three months, according to city police data.
Mill Creek detective Sean Conner isn’t sure why burglaries are on the rise again. The city had 65 burglaries between Jan. 1 and May 15 – a fourfold increase over the same period last year – but the number of break-ins dipped during the summer, he said.
“Perhaps there’s been a nothing-seen, nothing-heard kind of attitude in the public,” Conner said. “The public still needs to maintain a vigilance to protect themselves and protect their neighborhoods.”
People who see anything suspicious in their neighborhoods are asked to call 911.
As was the case earlier this year, most of the recent burglaries have occurred during the day when people are at work or school.
The crooks usually go door-to-door and knock to see if people are home. If nobody answers, they search for an unlocked door or window. Sometimes, they force their way into homes.
They go after laptops, jewelry, tools and other valuables that can be taken quickly, Conner said.
Investigators believe more than one group to be responsible for the rash of break-ins. A man arrested recently in a south Snohomish County city may be connected with some of the city’s burglaries, Conner said.
Detectives believe some of the recent burglaries to be the work of some of the same people who hit city neighborhoods last spring, he said.
Several cities in the county have reported increases in property crimes this year. Police in Edmonds, Mukilteo and south Lynnwood have also reported recent spates of residential burg-laries.
Some of the burglaries in other cities have also been cleared through recent arrests, police said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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