TYNGSBORO -- Better suspicious than sorry.
That's Police Chief William Mulligan's advice to area homeowners following a "sporadic rash" of home break-ins and burglaries in the past three months that appear tied to the downturn in the economy. The breaks have been concentrated in the areas of Chestnut, Dunstable and Kendall roads.
"We're increasing our patrols and trying to be diligent about getting out into the neighborhoods," Mulligan said. "And we're asking all neighbors to call us if they see anything they think is suspicious."
That advice stands even if it means calling police about a stranger in a neighbor's driveway who turns out to be an invited guest, as one resident did Monday.
"The citizen drove by his neighbor's house and saw a guy that he didn't know in the driveway in a truck with all the doors open, so he called us, and our officers went there to talk to the guy," Mulligan said. "He turned out to be a person who is staying with friends, so it was nothing. But that's fine. What's good is that you have a neighbor who was paying attention."
The most recent daytime burglary occurred Wednesday, Nov. 12, about 1:30 p.m., when one or more people broke into a home on Chestnut Road. The burglar or burglars tripped the home's electronic alarm but fled ahead of the first-arriving officers. Two canine units were called in from Chelmsford and Concord to assist Tyngsboro officers in the search, but they came up empty, Mulligan said.
"In that November 12th incident, there was a neighbor who saw a suspicious car and person in the driveway, but didn't call it in," Mulligan said. "Then after (police discovered the burglary scene), the neighbor said they kind of knew it and should have called us."
A few days later, Dunstable police arrested two suspects following three home burglaries in that town.
Mulligan said Tyngsboro police are looking into whether there is a connection between the Dunstable cases and the Tyngsboro break on Nov. 12.
Meanwhile, there are many more would-be home burglars ready to strike, Mulligan warned, with a game plan of making a quick buck at the pawnshop.
In broad daylight, usually.
"People aren't home," Mulligan said. "They knock on the door, and if there's no answer, they kick the door in.
"A home alarm is great, but an alert neighbor's a great thing to have, too," he added.