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HB NEWS POLICE OFFICER SAFETY TIPS TO HOMEOWNERS Continued from page 1 gion as a whole. According to police, there were 266 res- idential break-ins across Halton just last year. Thecrimesare reoften fair. ly simple operations. case, two men ws ied than seconds poppe. open’ thed door witha Peveson and his family were away that weekend. They did have an alarm sys- tem, but that didn't deter burglars from entering. It did, however, seem to limit their presence in the house to roughly three minutes. thieves = went straight for the master bed- room, where they went through every drawer and closet, including suitcases. “The experi made Halton Residential Break and Enters for a few sleepless nights anda sense of violation that we have not felt before," said Jason. "(We had) regrets of not doing more to better protect ourselves against is crime." Following the break-in, the family changed their be- haviour. They are now more diligent with activating the alarm system and leave the lights on in the home when out. "I wish I knew how easy 2018 2019 it was for someone to break into a house and (about) the riminals' disre: a securit 2020 2021 Metroland graphic tern of residential break-ins around the region, accord- ing to police. There was a i drop in th bl id system," Jason said. "Com- mon valuable hiding spots were obvious to these crimi- nals and needed to be reas- sessed. I recommend that if you have any valuables, that you install a proper safe for those items when There have been some notable changes in the pat- of this type of crime from 2019 to 2020. In 2019, there were 513 recorded break- ins, while in 2020, that num- ber fell to 257. Last year, the number stayed at ro the same point with 266 re- corded incidents. Const. Steve Elms of the Halton Regional Police Ser vice said it's impossible to speculate why exactly there has been such a significant drop, but it is feasible that the COVID-19 pandemic has. had effect. 'A large proportion of residential break-and-en- ters occur while residents are not home. Itis Possible that these types of may have decreased 1 mere. ly due to the fact that sus- pects did not commit them as often because residents were physically at home more," said Elms. Police have a number of tips to make properties less. likely to be targeted for burglary. They advise that residents install secure locks on all doors and win- dows, store valuable items out of fish ensure doors 8 deliveries when away fora prolonged peri period of time. Colin Jessome, execu- tive director of Halton Crime Stoppers, has a number of tips as well. “Security cameras, emergency lights and sur- veillance systems are a great start, as they can de- ter someone looking for an easy target. The best way to secure yourself is to share with your trusted neigh- 3 bours of any vacation or away plans. Neighbour- hoods where residents ar: ly calling out suspi- > in the hopes of identifying thieves. They receive hun- dreds of tips every month. one who is a victim of a break-in is encouraged to call 911. Crime Stoppers n share your vid- hing pics and information to help identify the sus- pects. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: While the number has dropped in recent years, residential break-ins remain a regular occur- rence across Halton. With that said, we wanted to examine how this impacts victims and what can be done to minimize the risk to residents’ homes. IBCRIME SUSPECTS SOUGHT IN ARMED ROBBERY MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com Halton police are looking for two suspects following the armed robbery of a con- venience store in George- town. The local department re- sponded to Circle K at 10 Mountainview Rd. 8. in the “Just before 2:30 am., two suspects entered the store, approached an em- ployee and demanded cash Eas the register," said po- lice in a media release. "One of the suspects stated he had a gun, although no gun was observed. The suspects fled the store with an undis- closed amount of cash." No physi injuries were sustained during the robbery. One suspect is described as a Black male in his mid 20s, six foot tall, wearing a black jacket with a fur- trimmed hood and black pants with neon yellow thick stripe. The other suspect is de- scribed as a white male in hismid 20s, fivefoot 11, wear- inga grey jacket and jeans. According to police, the same two suspects had en- tered the convenience store at approximately 2:20 a.m. and left, returning shortly thereafter. Police are asking anyone incident or who has CCTV or dash cam video of thea ar ea between 2 a.m. and 2: am. to contact the 1 District Investigations Bu- reau at 905-825-4777, ext. 2416. s can also be submit- ted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or www.haltoncrim- i who may 330 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN (opposite Canadian Tire) * www.millersscottishbakery.com Easter Hours: OPEN Sat Apr 16 10am - 6pm * CLOSED Good Fri Apr 15, Easter Sun Apr 17 & Mon Apr 18 905-877-0596 MWEPDD Sey) SCOTTISH BAKERY BRISH) BASuAR [OES CAKES /NiYS nxt HAPPY EASTER, HAPPY SPRING, ) HAPPY HAPPY EVERYTHING! Hot Cross Buns Are Here for Easter! "© Baked from our traditional British recipe. Breads, Rolls, Pastries & More Hdl UL | 2 eordyouy