Museum District cars targeted in crime spree
The number of vehicle break-ins is on the rise in the Museum District. NBC12 reports that at least 21 cars have been broken into in the past 90 days (video).
You can see a map of reported break-ins and other crimes in the area on the West of the Boulevard News Crime Map.
We need to work together to prevent break-ins and crime in general.
1. Don’t leave valuables in your car
2. If your car is broken into, report it to police
3. If you see any suspicious activity, report that to the police as well (emergencies – 911, non-emergencies – 646.5100)
photo by: mandaberry
My car was broken into, and reported to the police. I do not see it on the map. The cop was rude to me, and not helpful at all.
why bother – depending on when your car was broken into it may take a while to show up on the map. The group that logs the information into the map uses publicly available records, it’s not run by the RPD.
My apartment was broken into a few months ago and it took probably two weeks for that to show on the map.
I was told by the officer assigned to my case that they are held accountable for the level of crime in their precincts. While it may not benefit you directly, reporting your incident can serve to increase security and safety for the community as a whole.
I’ve noticed some delay in the reporting of incidents. When was the incident?
[...] The West of the Boulevard News reports on a crime spree targeting cars in the in the Museum District and Carytown. If you check out the crime location map they’ve provided, you’ll see that 3 of the 21 break-ins and other crimes include cars that were west of 195, in the Near West End. Some basic safety tips from the site: 1. Don’t leave valuables in your car [...]
It was in Oct 07.
I agree with reporting it to help others, which is why I did call them soon as I found out. I think another car that parks next to mine a lot was broken into the week before. The cop didn’t even pretend to care about what happened. My neighbor saw it happen and left me a note. They didn’t want to speak to him. The robber took some of my stuff around the back of the apartment, the cop didn’t care to even look at it.
He told me I could call if I wanted to see my report but that they wouldn’t find anything.
I understand that the likelihood of something happening about my break in was next to nothing. It was just how the police officer handled the situation. I did not feel comfort from reporting a crime, I felt like it wasted my time from trying to get to work.
I am Lt. Sybil El-Amin with the Richmond Police Department. The Museum District is part of my sector. We have worked diligently to reduce the amount of theft from motor vehicles in the area. The report of 21 Theft from Motor Vehicles in 90 days is accurate, but what was not reported was there were 16 in October, 4 in November and 3 in December. We have seen a dramatic decrease in the past 90 days. The decrease is largely contributed to the hard work of our sector officers. Having said that, if anyone feels they have been treated unprofessionally please do not hesitate to contact me. Service is 100% of our job. You are not wasting my time. I can be reached at 646-1944.
I would also like to remind everyone not to leave ANYTHING within plain view in your automobiles. We’ve had incidents where thieves have stolen potato chips! Thanks!
You can also e-mail me
Sybil.El-Amin@richmondgov.com