Within about an hour early Friday night, burglar alarms went off at two Darien houses. In the rear of each house, police found windows broken in apparent burglary attempts.
The houses are not close to each other — one is on Shady Acres Road, the other on Delafield Island Road, more than three miles away on the east side of Darien — and police have not said whether or not they suspect the two incidents are related.
Darien police gave these descriptions of what they found:
Delafield Island Road
At about 7:30 p.m., police responding to the alarm found two broken window panes on a back door that was left ajar. Several officers came to the scene, and police determined the house wasn’t occupied.
A rear window also had been broken and forced open, and another door had scratches that damaged the window, apparently in an attempt to break the glass, although the window was still intact.
Inside, everything seemed to be in order and nothing was reported missing.
Officers asked around the neighborhood (police didn’t report whether or not anyone knew of anything suspicious), and police detectives collected evidence at the scene.
Shady Acres Road
At about 8:36 p.m., police were alerted by a burglar alarm at a house on Shady Acres Road.
When they arrived, they found a broken window in the back of the house. The glass was broken just above the window lock, but the window was still locked and didn’t seem to have been opened.
Several officers arrived at the scene and the house was entered for a security check. As with the previous case, nothing in the house seemed to be out of order, and it appeared that no burglars had actually gone inside.
As with the other incident, police asked around the neighborhood (police didn’t report whether or not anyone knew of anything suspicious), and police detectives collected evidence at the scene.
SIDEBAR:
What You Can Do to Avoid Burglaries
Darien police recently offered crime prevention advice, including these tips about preventing burglaries:
- If you’re planning to go out of town for the holidays, let a trustworthy neighbor know so that they can keep an eye on your home. Don’t hide a key outside the house!
- Consider placing a hold on your mail and newspaper delivery. If mail and newspapers pile up, it’s a sure sign that you’re not home.
- Arm your security system to protect your home, even if you are just running out for a quick errand. Most residential burglaries happen during the daytime and vacation season is a popular time for criminal activity.
- If you see or hear anything suspicious, day or night, please call us right away. The men and women of the Darien Police Department will be working around the clock this holiday season to keep our community safe.
Additional advice from elsewhere:
- From an academic who interviewed burglars; also, a former burglar talks about burglarizing