These alerts are based on information compiled by Danvers police officers, detectives, and the department's crime analyst. If you have any questions, contact Sergeant Robert Bettencourt at rbettencourt@mail.danvers-ma.org or 978-774-1213 ext. 134.
Last Updated 07/10/2008 12:20 p.m.
Thefts from Cars at the Liberty Tree Mall
08/15/2008: In the past two months, there have been 16 thefts from cars at the Liberty Tree Mall parking lots. Eight of the thefts have involved stereos and stereo components; three have involved GPS devices. See the full bulletin (PDF) for more information, and please notify police or Mall security if you see any suspicious activity in the lot.
Bicycle Thefts Around Danvers Square
08/15/2008: Since July 21, we have taken reports of five bicycles stolen in the Danvers Square/Back Bay area, primarily from residential yards, garages, and porches. Evidence suggests local teens using them for short-term transportation and abandoning them. Please make sure you and your children secure your bicycles when not using them.
Residential Burglaries south of Route 62
07/10/2008: Since June 16, Danvers has experienced seven residential burglaries at small, stand-alone, single-family houses in the southern half of town. The burglars are striking between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. by forcing rear doors. They are stealing numerous types of items, including computers, other electronics, jewelry, and cash.
The burglars are persistent in their attempts to gain entry--if foiled at one access point, they go to another--so there are few security precautions that homeowners can take. We recommend that you hide your jewelry in a non-obvious place, back up and password-protect your computers, and note the serial numbers of all your expensive electronic devices. Most important, please report any suspicious activity around your houses or your neighbors: unfamiliar cars parked in driveways, strangers poking around yards, and sounds that might indicate bashed doors or broken glass.
Thefts from Cars in Driveways and Apartment Parking Lots
07/10/2008: In the last two months, Danvers has seen 22 nighttime thefts from cars in residential driveways and apartment parking lots. These are scattered all over town but are concentrated in neighborhoods near Route 1 and Route 114. Most of the cars are unlocked, and the thieves steal any items of value, from loose change to sunglasses to GPS devices. Please make sure you remove your valuables from your cars at night and lock them.
Thieves Preying on GPS Device Owners
05/06/2008: Danvers is in the midst of a pattern of dashboard GPS receiver thefts, affecting hotel, restaurant, and business parking lots on Route 1, along Route 114, and at the Liberty Tree Mall. Thieves smash the windows of cars parked for long periods, steal GPS receivers of all varieties from the victims' dashboards, and flee. A secondary target is laptop computers. There have been 43 incidents in the pattern since the beginning of the year.
Most of the thefts have targeted restaurants and businesses in the late afternoon and early evening, and hotels overnight. In the last week, the thefts have also crept into the daytime, with several thefts between noon and 3:00 p.m.
In a general sense, however, this pattern is part of a growing problem all over eastern Massachusetts, and no place and time is really "safe." If you are the owner of a GPS device, please take care to remove or conceal it when parking your car. Leaving it in plain view is like leaving $500 cash sitting on your dashboard.
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