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Over the last weekend of February, Atherton police reported five residential burglaries during a two-day span in town.
Incidents like this sparked the town to announce a “bait house program” in which police will put decoy devices with surveillance technology into houses that participate in the program.
The start of 2024 saw a spike in residential burglaries across Menlo Park, Atherton and Portola Valley. Through the months of January to March, local law enforcement have been holding public safety meetings and taking new initiatives as they continue their investigations into the burglaries.
Atherton Police Commander Dan Larsen told this news organization that connections between burglaries are “possible, but no solid connections have been made yet.”
Break-ins in Menlo Park
The Menlo Park Police Department has documented 18 residential burglaries from Jan. 1 to March 5, according to police spokesperson Nicole Acker. This increase in crime in residential areas has brought a higher demand from the community for the city to install more automatic license plate readers (ALPRs).
During Menlo Park’s City Council meeting on Feb. 27, multiple public commenters came up to voice their concerns on the rise in crime and encouraged the council to reconsider funding to more license plate readers.
In September 2023, the council expressed hesitation about Flock ALPRs due to privacy concerns. The Menlo Park Police Department currently has three mobile mounted license plate readers. From October –December 2023 they have been able to capture 84 license plates registered in an active law enforcement database or wanted list, as written in their quarterly update.
“I am concerned that Menlo Park not be one of the last ones standing not having a license plate reader, so that anyone who wants to break into a house and doesn’t want their license plates read know they can come to Menlo Park,” said Menlo Park resident Dee Dee Dickey during the meeting.
Members of the Sharon Heights Community Association wrote a letter to the council on Feb. 13 stating their concerns for the surge of break-ins and suggested that installing ALPRs might help with combating crime.
Sharon Heights residents Maya Sewald commented during the city council meeting encouraging more funding towards the police department.
“Our detective unit is working on the investigations of the residential burglaries as well as working with neighboring agencies,” Acker told this news organization in an email.
Atherton starts ‘bait house’ program
Nearby, the town of Atherton has seen a total of 12 residential burglaries since the start of the year. The town already has a robust ALPR program, partly funded by residents.
In addition to the standard burglary prevention advice, the Atherton Police Department has announced a new initiative it calls the Burglary Prevention Bait House Program.
While still in the initial stages, bait houses will be located in areas with higher burglary rates. To capture evidence, the bait houses will be equipped with surveillance equipment that will help police identify and arrest suspects.
The program is intended to ensure faster response times from the police department and increase the likelihood of apprehending burglars while they are in the act.
“The investigations are ongoing and the detectives are actively following up on leads,” said Atherton Police Commander Dan Larsen, in an email to this news organization. “The ALPR cameras have been useful in identifying possible associated vehicles.”
In addition to the bait house program, Police Chief Steve McCulley announced that the police department will be hosting a Burglary Prevention Workshop at Town Center, 80 Fair Oaks Lane, on March 28 at 7 p.m.
Portola Valley sees increase in burglaries, Woodside’s count remains low
Portola Valley has reported six residential break-ins, five of which occurred in January.
The town of Woodside has reported a total of three burglaries in which all have occurred in the month of January. Within Woodside, the Sheriff’s Office explained that the community is on the low end of burglaries with zero incidents reported throughout February after identifying some groups that were actively burglarizing. No burglaries have been reported for early March.
“We arrested some individuals, we had collaboration with other agencies, we’ve identified a pretty good chunk of individuals involved and we started to see this slow decrease,” said Capt. Matthew Fox with the Sheriff’s Office during a Woodside town hall meeting.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office held community meetings in Woodside and Portola Valley to inform the community about what their police officers are doing to keep the area safe and to provide tips on what homeowners can do to prevent burglaries.
Fox explained that the majority of the break-ins recorded annually happen during the holiday season when residents are not home.
“When people go on vacation and people leave their house vacant, it’s a prime opportunity for a small amount of people that are involved in criminal activity to really target homes,” said Fox during the Woodside meeting.
District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller joined the meeting and encouraged individuals to reach out to local legislators to show support in the roll back of criminal justice reforms “that have actually led to these increasing property crimes that we’re seeing right now.”
Portola Valley hosted a discussion on public safety with its town manager on Feb. 28, inviting Capt. Fox to answer community questions.
“I will be taking a look at the feasibility of purchasing more cameras for the town, and other areas such as the cost of enhancing our Sheriff’s contact in the future — or seeing if private security may be an option to help with surveillance,” said Portola Valley Town Manager Sharif Etman in a statement to this news organization.
Etman clarified that no decisions or promises were made during the meeting and that the town’s budget and funding will have to be considered for these increased security measures.
Law enforcement tips on burglary prevention, MOs
Across the Midpeninsula, local law enforcement have offered similar advice to communities facing high rates of burglaries.
County Sheriff’s Office’s Capt. Mark Myers told Woodside residents that the primary entry point they are finding is the rear sliding door. Myers encourages residents to buy security film that protects the glass from immediately breaking.
County Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan said that the “two minutes is about the standard” amount of time for a burglary to occur.
Larsen advises that Atherton residents schedule a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) review of their home by calling 650-688-6500.
The Sheriff’s Office similarly offers residents in the county to receive an assessment from a deputy on their home’s security. Homeowners will be able to receive suggestions on what they can do to their home to prevent a burglary.
With break-ins commonly occurring when residents are out of town, police officers advise community members to leave their lights, TV or radio on while they’re away.
Other common tips provided across police agencies include locking doors, windows and gates, installing outdoor motion-sensored floodlights and installing alarm and security systems.
The Sheriff’s Office also encourages talking to neighbors and letting them know about any vacations or trips out of town. When neighbors know that another neighbor is out of town, any identification of a suspicious vehicle or person around the property can be reported to the police.
Installing alarms is a great idea, but people have to use them for them to be effective. I’d hazard that all five homes burglarized in Atherton had alarms and I’d bet money, none of them were on at the time of the burglaries.