Our department continually monitors criminal activity in the communities surrounding our village and in similar communities in other counties and other states. Many of the same criminal groups target these areas and monitoring their activity can provide early warning for emerging new crime trends.
Recently we have noticed an increase in occupied burglaries during early morning hours, often in the 2 am to 5 am range. It appears these burglars are looking for vehicle key fobs in order to steal vehicles parked at these residences. We have not seen this occur in Old Westbury. We are working diligently to prevent this from occurring here in our village. Accordingly, we are proactively utilizing our license plate readers to alert us to any vehicle associated with this pattern should it enter Old Westbury. We are also working collaboratively with other departments in this area.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind residents of actions that you can take to minimize the risks of being targeted by this group of individuals.
- Whenever possible park vehicles inside of your garage.
- Always remove key fobs from vehicles and lock them.
- Keep key fobs and other valuables out of sight within your home.
- Always set your alarm, even when you are at home. (Alarm activations have caused these criminals to flee)
- Consider connecting your alarm directly to our headquarters.
- Pay attention to motion activations on cameras installed on your property.
- Keep outdoor areas well lit throughout the night.
- Immediately notify our department of any suspicious activity.
Rest assured we are working each and every day to ensure your safety and the safety of your family. Working together with village residents and keeping them informed is a proven path to success. Serious crime is down substantially in the village this year and we are working hard to keep it that way.