Officers to Offer Theft Prevention Tips for Church Properties
The Boston Police Department (BPD) is investigating recent incidents involving break-ins at local churches. Community Service Officers have been tasked with visiting local churches to assist with prevention efforts.
Officers will be meeting with church personnel to provide security tips and techniques for theft prevention. Investigators continue to publicly distribute surveillance images and information to encourage the assistance of community members.
This press release is accompanied by a surveillance video capturing a suspect who allegedly broke into the Mission Church on November 29th. Investigators believe this suspect may be the same suspect from a recent, prior incident at Mission Church on November 22nd.
Incident Description:
At 5:24am on November 29, 2010, officers responded to a radio call for a breaking and entering report at Mission Church at 1545 Tremont Street in Roxbury. The officers discovered that a nearby window had been tampered with. Officers also observed a door which had been damaged. Officers reviewed surveillance video which showed a white male with dark colored facial/head hair, 20-30 years old, a baseball style hat (red in the back and blue on the front with an emblem), black jacket, white T-shirt, black pants and gray sneakers. In the video, the male was also seen leaving the church and appeared to have a gold object in his left hand.
Safety Tips for Church Properties:
ü Review your security systems for effectiveness
ü Be sure you are capturing efficient security video
ü Be sure you have adequate lighting
ü Keep valuables in a safe and locked place
ü Ask your congregation to be vigilant for suspicious activity
ü Immediately call 911 as soon as the robbery/break-in occurs
Contact Information:
The Boston Police Department urges any community members with information regarding commercial robberies to call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or text the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department is interested only in your information, not your identity.
Church properties are also encouraged to contact your local district Community Service Office for more information.