Bay Burglaries More than Doubled Last Year

Whitefish Bay remains a relatively safe place to live, but the number of burglaries in the village more than doubled last year after a wave of home break-ins.

The in November and December led to a 145 percent increase in burglaries - jumping from 11 burglaries in 2009 to 27 in 2010. The number of burglaries was still lower than the 29 burglaries tallied in 2008.

Whitefish Bay, Shorewood and Glendale all saw an uptick in burglaries around the holiday season, but the burglaries dropped off after in Wauwatosa in January. Whitefish Bay police have linked the men to at least three of the burglaries in the village.

“We can make an assumption they were involved in more, but haven’t been able to provide definitive proof that they did it,” Whitefish Bay Police Chief Robert Jacobs said.

Last year’s crime statistics were compiled into an annual report comparing police department activity over the past five years.

The report shows that overall crime in the village - violent and property - increased by 13 percent from 2009 to 2010, primarily because of the rise in burglaries.

The other factor behind the overall rise in crime was a jump in the number of thefts. Theft remains the most common type of crime, making up 84 percent of all incidents in Whitefish Bay.

Last year police recorded 201 thefts, an increase of seven thefts since 2009, but still nine less than the 210 thefts recorded in 2008. Of those thefts, 32 percent were from vehicles and 19 percent were stolen bicycles.

Jacobs said many of those thefts are crimes of opportunity, as vehicles and bicycles in the village are left unlocked, and in the case of vehicle, with valuables left in plain sight.

“We certainly try to do our part, but if the public increased their efforts a little bit more, those numbers could probably come down significantly,” he said.

Police recorded seven vehicle thefts last year, which is an increase from the three that occurred last year, but a decrease from the eight thefts reported in 2008.

There were four violent crimes - three robberies and one rape - reported last year. That's up from three in 2009, but down from 10 in 2008.

The rape was the second one reported in the last five years. And for the first time since 2006, no assaults were reported.

Jacobs said the numbers are a sign that Whitefish Bay residents still enjoy a safe community.

“Crimes against persons and crimes against property are low,” he said. “People in Whitefish Bay are fairly safe.”

Parking citations have steadily declined in the past five years, and last year the police department issued 8,198 – a decrease from 9,074 in 2009. While night parking citations dropped from 5,284 to 3,628, meter parking citations increased from 1,470 to 2,751.

Jacobs said the parking citation trends are due to road construction. Police did not enforce parking restrictions during the reconstruction of a portion of Fairmount Avenue, for example.

The rise in meter citations last year came as no surprise to Jacobs, since it was the first full year the meters have been in operation. The meters were installed again after the reconstruction of Silver Spring Drive in 2008 and early 2009.

Jacobs said police officers do their best to enforce parking rules without scaring shoppers away from stores on Silver Spring Drive.

“The purpose of parking meters and parking restrictions is to regulate traffic so you don’t have people parking all day long,” he said. “We try not to be overzealous, but at the same time, monitor the situation so the intent of the parking restrictions are met. It’s kind of a balance.”

Crime in Whitefish Bay