Crime watch: Woodside Glens residents raise guard Crime watch: Woodside Glens residents raise guard (August 17, 2005)

** A residential robbery led to a neighborhood-watch meeting with deputy sheriffs.

A couple of recent home burglaries -- and perhaps fears that there could be more -- has stirred up some residents living among the secluded and winding roads of the Woodside Glens neighborhood off Canada Road in Woodside.

About 20 neighbors attended a resident-initiated neighborhood-watch meeting August 1 when deputies from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office listened to resident's concerns and talked about ways to discourage criminals.

"(The residents) are obviously concerned. That obviously makes us more concerned," said Sgt. Jeff Kearnan, who attended the meeting.

On July 14, a home on Glenwood Avenue was ransacked and robbed of electronic equipment and appliances, according to a Sheriff's Office report. That incident, some auto burglaries and several cases of teens using the area for a nighttime rendezvous led to the call for a meeting, he said.

The deputies gave residents checklists of do's and don'ts and encouraged them not to hesitate to call when they suspect trouble or want to discuss a situation.
Easy pickings?

It's not uncommon, said Sgt. Kearnan, for people in affluent neighborhoods to create a comfort level in which doors aren't locked and valuable possessions are left out in vehicles -- where they can be seen and taken.

In April, Portola Valley residents in the Westridge neighborhood were victims of a series of nighttime thefts of wallets, purses and credit cards from unlocked vehicles sitting in driveways. (A San Bruno man was arrested May 20 and the thefts have since stopped.)

Thieves caught and interviewed by Sheriff's Office deputies have admitted that they look for items left in vehicles and that they target vehicles in affluent communities because they know they will find more unlocked doors there, said Sgt. Kearnan. If there's a freeway nearby, so much the better.

"Think like a crook," he said. "Where are you going to go? It's easy to get off (Interstate) 280, hit the cars and get back on 280."

Even a locked door is no obstacle, said Sgt. Kearnan. In the right hands, he said, a screwdriver can be used to "punch" a passenger-side door lock and allow a thief to take a credit card from a purse on the seat, close the purse, close the door and be gone -- long before the victim (who may use that door once a week) discovers the theft.

"You don't learn until you get bit," he said. "Some people have never had a bad experience. They think 'It's not going to happen to me.'"

Thieves can also masquerade as day laborers or leaflet distributors -- not a common thing, but it has been done, said Sgt. Kearnan. "They find out if a dog is there by walking around with these silly flyers," he said. "They may be casing your house or casing the neighborhood."
Taking action

Glenwood Avenue resident Amanda Gerhardt told the Almanac she might have seen the robbers in the July 14 incident and debated with herself on whether to use her loaded wheelbarrow to block the path of the departing car. She didn't, she said.

The best thing to do in such a situation is to have a cell phone handy and use it to call the Sheriff's Office emergency number at 363-4911, said Sgt. Kearnan. (Calling 911 from a cell phone takes time because the California Highway Patrol has to reroute the call to the Sheriff's Office.)

"If residents don't call, they may be down in Town Hall later filling out a (burglary) report," Sgt. Kearnan told the Almanac.

Other suggestions include:

** Avoid walking or biking alone.

** Share vacation information with neighbors.

** Don't open the door unless you know who it is.

** Buy a locking mailbox.

** Consider an alarm system.

One suggestion -- installing outdoor lights activated by a motion detector -- fell flat because it violates Woodside ordinances, residents said.
INFORMATION

To arrange a community meeting with sheriff's deputies in Woodside or Portola Valley neighborhoods, call Lt. Ken Jones at 363-4990.

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