'Please lock your car doors at night!'

A young police officer patrolling the streets of his native city has enlisted the support of local businesses in an effort to put a serious dent in the extremely high number of thefts from unlocked cars and trucks that have been occurring in recent years — especially in the neighborhoods on "hospital hill". Being proactive about the root causes of crime instead of merely reacting to crimes once they have been committed is a big part of the Police Department's emphasis of "Community Oriented Policing" tactics and Officer Rob Sedgley is nothing if not proactive.

"We had an enormous number of (burglary) calls last year in the hospital hill area," Sedgley said earlier this week. "An I personally have not seen a forced entry yet."

People are simply leaving their cars and trucks unlocked at night, he elaborated, and thieves — both adult and juvenile — are using the late night and early morning hours to prowl looking for easy scores. In a period of just five months last year — May through September — police records indicate that some 6,700 items were reported stolen from vehicles in the city and only about 150 were ever recovered.

Sedgley said he believes the number this year are every bit as high, if not higher, and the easy thefts occur citywide. The most active area is the police patrol sector that reaches from South Main Street up to Lakeport Square, though, and the side streets that branch off Pine Street and Highland Street "have by far the most". The officer said that thieves dressed in dark clothes typically prowl from 10 p.m. to 4 or 5 a.m. looking for unlocked doors. And they don't stick to streets and sidewalks, often moving through darkened yards.

(Very early this past Sunday morning, a 19-year-old Belmont man was arrested in the hospital hill area and charged with carrying a loaded handgun he did not have a permit for. John H. Chapman and a companion were stopped by police because they matched the description of prowlers who were spotted the backyard of a residence of Dixon Street.)

Officer Sedgley has already gone door-to-door on Lafayette and Gillette Streets to warn residents of the danger and to ask them to lock up. He will knock on more doors as time permits.

And he is calling residents attention to additional measures they can take to safeguard their property.

The officer personally approached the owners of Trustworthy Hardware and Vanworks Car Audio (Belknap Tire) and they agreed to offer discounts on the purchase of motion-sensor lights and car alarm systems.

Trustworthy Hardware President Pamela Martineau said her store will take 10-percent off the cost of the devices that turn a spotlight on an area where motion is detected to anyone who presents one of the coupons being distributed by Sedgley. The devices cost in the range of $12 to $27.

Vanworks owner Greg Bryar — and manager Jon Carvalho — have similarly offered a 10-percent discount on the purchase of car alarm systems that cost $249, installed.

Sedgley said he was a big believer in using "community-based resources" to solve problems and he believes getting Trustworthy and Vanworks involved in his project is an example of just such an approach. Likewise, both Martineau and Bryar, who were at the police station on Monday meeting with Sedgley, indicated their businesses were committed to being a part of community solutions to community problems.

The 10-percent off coupons are part of the material Sedgley is distributing door-to-door in the hospital hill area but he is also making an inexhaustible supply of them available at the New Salem Street station, so residents from throughout the city can take advantage of the offers.

Martineau and Bryar said there is no time limit on the coupons.

Lighting focused on your vehicle at night is critical, Sedgley said. "The best and most effective way to do this is to invest in motion-sensor lights. . . then the perpetrator will be surprised the light turned on .. . and it is far easier for a patrolling police officer to notice a light on than to the spot someone wearing all-black and hiding."

"Even a dome light on (in a vehicle) catches my eye at night," he added.

Though relatively costly, the officer also recommended the purchase of a car alarm that also serve as a deterrent to the theft of the vehicle itself.

It is critically important, Sedgley stressed, that residents call the police whenever they see something or someone out of the ordinary around their house or neighborhood. "It is not a waste of our time," he said. "We prefer to prevent crime rather than react to it."

Finally, the officer made of point of advising residents not to try and handle a situation themselves. "There is no property worth injuring yourself over," he said. "Call us."

The police dispatch line is 524-5252. The number for administration is 524-5257 and Officer Sedgley can be reached at extension 561.