Residents AskedTo Stay Alert

Garden City Police Commissioner Ernest J. Cipullo updated residents at last Thursday evening's Board of Trustees meeting on the marked increase in home invasions that have frightened homeowners across Long Island. There have been 29 home invasions in Nassau County since January 1. This is a significant increase from last year, when 16 home invasions were reported.

"Everything that can be done is being done," he said.

Cipullo attended a meeting on October 19 where police departments from Nassau and Suffolk Counties, several villages, and the Queens and Brooklyn Robbery Squads formed a task force. These departments are sharing information and covering specific areas. Most of the invasions have been occurring near major roadways, including the Long Island Expressway, Seaford/Oyster Bay Expressway and Northern State Parkway. In some cases a late-model, light silver, white or gray Chrysler 300 with tinted windows was used.

He commended the Nassau County Police Department's Robbery Squad for their investigative work. Detectives have determined that there have been three different robbery patterns. One has not been as active for a few months after the arrest of one of the participants this past summer. Another pattern, which has been very active, may be operating out of Brooklyn. A theory that has been posited is that after 9/11 many businesses upgraded their security systems so criminals have turned to robbing homes.

Commissioner Cipullo called upon residents to use common sense: keep outside lights on overnight; lock all doors and windows; make sure alarms are on and working properly; and call 911 if you see or hear anything suspicious.

"In the majority of these cases, I don't think there was one that had a burglar alarm that was on," he said. "They had burglar alarms, but they were not activated." He added that most of the time the criminals have been gaining entry through an unlocked window or door between 3 and 5 a.m. The pattern of invasions has seemingly changed from Tuesday or Wednesday evenings to Friday, Saturday and Sunday.