El Cerrito Police Hope To Rally Residents Vs. Burglars

A dramatic rise in burglaries around El Cerrito is creating concern among police and residents, but it could also galvanize the community.

The El Cerrito Police Department is working with representatives from several industries to offer a Home Security Exposition on Saturday, from 1-4:30 p.m., at the El Cerrito Community Center. The expo is free and drop-ins are welcome.

"This is another chance to get residents involved in home security," said El Cerrito Police Lt. Paul Keith.

Residents will have the chance to talk with security alarm specialists, locksmiths, insurance representatives, a firearms trainer, and others about ways to make their homes more secure.

El Cerrito has seen a 44 percent increase in burglaries — residential, auto and commercial — over the past year, according to Lt. Keith. Through the end of April this year, there have been 112 reported burglaries in El Cerrito — most of which were residential. There were 78 reported burglaries during the same time period in 2012.

"Burglaries are up all over the Bay Area," according to Lt. Keith. "Some people associate that with prison realignment. A lot of people want to say it's because of the bad economy. In reality, we saw a decrease in burglaries during the recession. Now that the economy is recovering, we see rising crime levels. It's not clear if there is any correlation."

The good news is violent crime during the same time period this year is down 19 percent.

"Residential burglaries predominately happen during the day while people are at work," Lt. Keith said. "Burglars will check to see if no one's home. First, they'll find if something unlocked. If they find something unsecured, a door or window, they'll go in. Otherwise, they'll kick in the door."