Contact:
Lt. Dave Shaffer, 217-403-7030
[email protected]
Police Make Fourteen Burglary Arrests in Two Months
The Champaign Police Department has seen a significant increase in crimes involving motor vehicle and residential burglaries. During January and February of 2016 there have been a total of 95 Residential Burglaries and 68 Burglaries to Motor Vehicles (BMVs).
Police have been conducting additional street patrols and follow-up investigations that have resulted in 14 individuals being arrested between January and February of this year alone.
Locations of the residential burglaries are scattered throughout the city, however, the Southwest District has had approximately 50% more reported burglaries than the rest of Champaign.
Although the department has been successful in solving a number of these crimes, police are asking residents to take extra alert in their neighborhood and to report anything unusual or suspicious to the police. During an in-progress emergency, please call 9-1-1. To submit a report, call METCAD non-emergency at 217-333-8911.
If you are witness to a burglary or other crime and do not want to contact Police directly, anonymous tips can also be shared via Crime Stoppers: by calling 217-373-8477 (TIPS); reporting online at www.373tips.com; or by texting “CCTIP” plus the crime information to 274637 (CRIMES). Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
Please see below for safety tips and map illustrations of recent motor vehicle and residential burglaries.
Prevention Tips for Vehicles:
- Don’t leave vehicles running unoccupied
- Always lock your vehicle doors and take the keys with you when not in use, even in your driveway
- Do not leave unattended personal belongings in plain sight inside your vehicle, no matter where it is parked
- Install alarms and/or “kill switch” devices in vehicles
- When leaving your vehicle, remove GPS, Bluetooth, and other equipment from plain view and lock it in your trunk
- Don’t leave mail in your vehicle with the address label visible
- At night, always park your vehicle in a well-lit and visible place
Prevention Tips for Homes:
- Always lock exterior doors when you are at home
- Close all windows and lock all exterior doors when leaving your home
- Keep your garage door closed and locked
- Keep shrubs and bushes trimmed
- Secure any sliding doors; make sure the lock is in working order; place a steel rod in the door channel
- Don’t leave your property unattended, such as bicycles, or lawn equipment outside of your home
- Make sure the exterior of your house is well-lit at night to discourageburglars
- Keep records of serial numbers for valuables such as stereos, bicycles and sports equipment
- Purchase a home engraving kit to mark your property
- Consider a burglar alarm system