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Crime & Safety

San Marin Residents Warned of Uptick in Crime

Suspects are knocking on doors to see if anyone is at home before gaining entry to unoccupied homes.

The is warning residents in the San Marin and northern Novato that there has been an uptick in burglary in the area — with some 11 reported incidents in the past two months.

But the department also says that a marked increase in vehicle burglaries and theft from unlocked vehicles is occurring citywide.

On Dec. 20, Novato’s chief of police, Joseph Kreins, sent an e-mail to the San Marin Improvement Association to make residents aware of some of the incidents that had occurred where suspects used a technique of first knocking on the door of potential victims.

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“If the door is answered, innocuous questions are asked or some nonsensical statement is made and the suspects go on their way,” wrote Kreins in the e-mail. “If the door is not answered, it is assumed the residence is not occupied.”

According to Kreins, suspects then look for open doors or windows to enter into the unoccupied home.

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This month, two incidents of burglary were interrupted — one where suspects were scared away by a homeowner’s unexpected presence and another when a juvenile came home to find two suspects in his home. In both cases, the suspects fled.

Kreins said that keeping the community informed so that it could practice crime prevention techniques, including locking doors and windows of your vehicle and home — even when you are home.

Former Novato city councilmember Carole Dillon-Knutson is a resident of the San Marin area and agrees with this strategy.

“I think that it’s very important that the public be made aware when there is this kind of activity so that they can take precautions,” Dillon-Knutson said.

“I had my car burglarized — one of the doors was left unlocked,” she added.  “Fortunately, all that was in it was my knitting bag and they discarded it in the bushes.  If you give them opportunity, you can be a victim.”

Alice Demushkin-Dow is on the board of the San Marin Improvement Association and said she thinks community involvement is key.

“The SMIA appreciates Chief Kreins' letter addressing the recent incidents in our neighborhood,” wrote Demushin-Dow by e-mail. "... Of course residents are nervous, but they are also angry that these thugs are entering our neighborhood. We won't put up with it here."

“Our neighbors are on high alert, and luckily we have many stay-at-home/work-at-home parents and retired residents who always have their eyes open to suspicious behavior,” she said.

Novato real estate agent Sylvia Barry is also on the San Marin Improvement Association and says the area of 1,700-plus residences is known for being friendly and safe. 

Barry says the community stays in touch through watch groups, an association website and a Facebook page — and is using social media to combat crime by staying informed.

“Although we have recently seen a surge of neighborhood crimes as described in the press release by the Novato police; we have also seen the benefit of being such a tight-knit and proactive neighborhood,” Barry said in response.

Kreins says the reporting of suspicious activity is an important part of crime prevention.

“Neighbors who communicate with one another begin to develop a deeper sense of what is 'normal' within their neighborhood," he wrote. "It is this 'neighborhood expertise' that we, the Novato Police Department, tap into when we are investigating an incident."

(Kreins' letter to the SMIA and the article he recommends on keeping your environment safe are attached to this article.)

Non-violent property crimes with no know suspects and where the value is less than $1,000 can be reported online. To report suspicious activity or a crime, call (415) 897-4361 during business hours or (415) 897-1122 during non-business hours. To report an emergency, call 911.  Calls to 911 from a cell phone are received by the Novato Police Department. 

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