More than 30 houses in the city burglarized over break

More than 30 houses in College Park were burglarized during winter break despite a drop in county crime and an increase in patrolmen, Prince George's County Police officials said.

Early last week, 25 officers patrolled College Park looking for suspicious activity and clues to the identity of the burglars who preyed on vacant houses during the university's winter break, said District 1 Commander Maj. Daniel Dusseau. However, despite the increased efforts, many still fell victim to the crime wave.

"There is always a spike in reported break-ins when people return from break," Dusseau said, adding that preventing all break-ins during the break would be impossible. "There would have to be an officer stationed at every property. ... If there is an officer on one street, they're not going to see someone trespassing in a backyard on the street over."

Over break, there were days when 20 or more officers were patrolling College Park neighborhoods, Dusseau said. Officers from all over the county were diverted to College Park to patrol neighborhoods and identify the culprits of this past winter break's rash of break-ins.

City Director of Public Services Bob Ryan said, although the identities of all the burglars responsible for the break-ins during winter break are not yet known, there have been some arrests made.

"A man going door to door [checking for unlocked doors] in the Old Town neighborhood was arrested, and another man was arrested for trespassing in the Knox Box area after he returned to the area after being told by police to leave," Ryan said.

County police have also discovered some of the burglars' methods, Ryan said. Some of the trespassers arrested admitted to attending house parties and "casing the place" before returning to burglarize it while the property was vacant during this past break, he said.

County police are doing their best to patrol neighborhoods and look for suspicious activity, but they can only do so much, Dusseau said.

"People need to lock their doors; it's very important," he said. "They need to shut their blinds at night so their bright, big-screen television isn't shining through the window and bring trash to the dumpster or break it up and put it in bags so people don't see what you're buying."

Dusseau said there has been a great effort on the part of city officials to curb the annual break-ins. 

In each of the past two years, the city allocated $1 million for an increase in full-time patrol officers and off-duty county police. Since then, crime has decreased, Dusseau said.

"I think we have had significant improvement in College Park with this program," he said.

According to Prince George's County crime statistics, burglaries have decreased from 2008 to 2009 by 2 percent and overall crime by 12.2 percent.

Dusseau added that neighborhood watch programs are vital, because evidence disappears as hours pass, allowing criminals to get away, so neighbors need to be on the look out for suspicious activity.

"There's a lot of good neighbors in College Park who have reported people walking down the street turning door knobs and peering in windows," Dusseau said.

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