Residential Burglaries on the Rise

The City of San Ramon has been experiencing a recent increase in residential burglaries. The majority of these have been occurring during daylight hours. A common theme in the method of committing these crimes is that the suspect(s) first attempt to discover if the residence is occupied. This may be accomplished by the suspect knocking on the door, if the suspect gets no answer, the suspect may attempt entry into the house; either through the front door or an alternate door or window to the side or rear of the residence. Suspects may also ring the door bell, leave a card, and later return to the residence and check to see if the card or paper is still there, in an effort to determine if anybody is at home prior to checking the side and back yards. If a resident answers the door, the suspect may explain that they have some legitimate business in the neighborhood; frequently advertising or soliciting for some service.

There have been several instances in which residents have observed suspicious persons at a neighbor's house and have delayed calling the police until after the persons have departed; or they only report the suspicious activity while police are conducting an investigation into the theft that occurred at their neighbor's house. The San Ramon Police Department needs your assistance in stopping these crimes; as residents of your neighborhood, you have a great deal of knowledge about what is unusual or suspicious. Many crimes are prevented, or suspects apprehended when residents provide timely information about suspicious activity that they observe. The San Ramon Police Department is conducting additional patrol and undercover operations in the residential neighborhoods directed toward combating this crime. Several people have been arrested, yet these crimes continue to occur in San Ramon and in surrounding communities. Therefore, we urge you to contact the police department to report suspicious persons or vehicles in your neighborhood, while that person or vehicle is still present. It would be helpful when calling to provide as much descriptive information as possible; including
person and vehicle descriptions such as: clothing being worn or make/model/color/license plate of vehicles.

As the holiday season approaches, it is common for thefts from vehicles to increase. The San Ramon Police Department would like to remind residents that they can help in preventing thefts from their vehicles by:
1. Keeping their vehicle locked
2. Keeping all personal items, especially valuables or bags that appear to contain valuables, completely out of view.
3. Do not park your vehicle, go to the trunk to hide personal items, and leave the vehicle parked as you conduct your business. Thieves often watch people as they park their vehicles and see them place valuables in the trunk; this is common in shopping mall and health club parking lots.

The San Ramon Police Department exists to serve you, please don't ever hesitate to call us.

Dispatch- 973-2779
Crime Prevention- 973-2796
San Ramon PD general- 973-2700