[RP TownTalk] The report of a "home invasion" in Ward 1

[Gerard Kiernan]

Dear Town Talkers,

Yesterday, Roland Walker reported on an occurrence that happened in West
Riverdale.  After reading the e-mail, I contacted the patrol supervisor at
our police department to get more details.  He said that the police had no
information on a home invasion.  As Roland wrote earlier this evening, he
defines any break-in with residents at home as a home invasion.  I, and the
police, look at a home invasion as a situation where a perpetrator
physically threatens the residents.

Since the RPPD didn't know anything about a "home invasion", I contacted Mr.
Walker for the address of the incident.  With that information, I contacted
Chief Parker.  He had the police database searched and came up with the
following:

The event occurred on April 26 at 10:55 p.m., and was not a recent
occurrence.  The resident heard someone in his house and called the police.
The dispatcher recorded the call as a Breaking and Entering in progress.  By
the time the officers arrived, the perpetrator had fled.  Since the person
had entered the house by an open door (per Roland's report), a Burglary
report was written.

Note the distinction in police terminology. A Breaking and Entering (B&E)
requires the perp to break in, i.e., force a lock or break a window.  A
Burglary occurs when the perp can enter a property with having to destroy
something to enter the property.

In other messages, Roland and others have described thefts from automobiles
that were left unlocked.  While I encourage everyone to lock their cars and
houses, if a theft occurs, please report it to the police.

Chief Parker asked that I describe a series of thefts from automobiles in
Ward 2 north of East West Highway.  Since the victims had reported the
crimes, the police had a pretty good idea of when they were occurring.
Since it was the middle of the night,  Officer Garcia decided to patrol the
neighborhood with his headlights turned off.  Surprise, surprise, he rolled
up on the perpetrator attempting to steal the radio out of a car.  His
creativity ended that particular crime spree.

While Riverdale Park is relatively safe, our continued safety requires
continued cooperation between our residents and the police.  As I have
written before, if you see something that seems out of the normal, call it
in.  Better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks for your time.

Gerry Kiernan
Ward 5 Council Member
Chair, Public Safety Committee
H:301-277-4554