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Apartments a Burglary Target
COLUMBIA - Locking your doors does not always mean your home is invincible.

Burglaries in Columbia have nearly doubled from the numbers at this time last year. 82% of the burglaries occured in apartments, duplexes or condos, and nearly a third of the burglaries happened in unlocked homes. Police say the burglarized homes are usually those where people come and go frequently.

Burglary victim Boyd Powers left his locked apartment for just two hours and was surprised by what he found when he returned.

"I came to the backdoor, saw that it had been jimmied open with a crowbar from the outside and someone had broken in," Powers said. "So I came back, our TV was gone, our Playstation was gone and my laptop."

Powers is suspicious the burglar may have had help.

"So it really had to happen between two hours and 15 minutes, so someone probably had to be watching the apartment knowing that we both were gone," Powers explained.

Similar crimes continue across the city.

"They may be an easier target, it is not unusual to see people coming and going at apartment communities and rental units, having friends over," according to Captain Zim Schwartze, Community Operations Division Commander. "There's a lot more units, obviously, comprised in a very small area"

Columbia Police say a high percentage of the burglaries are on the rise in areas with a lot of community living, making Old Route 63 and Grindstone Parkway one of the areas to see an increase this year. The police department says to call immediately if you see anything suspicious in your neighborhood, a reminder that prevention is a lot easier than solving a burglary.

Posted by: Stephanie Stouffer
Reported by: Justin Dufour


Published: Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 5:42 PM