By Josh O’Gorman
STAFF WRITER | May 09,2013
STAFF WRITER | May 09,2013
Rutland Herald
KILLINGTON — Increased police presence and
the formation of a neighborhood watch program are two responses by the
town following a string of burglaries targeting second homeowners.
First Constable Whit Montgomery told town officials and the public of the break-ins during Tuesday night’s Select Board meeting.
“We’ve had seven break-ins since the end of winter and start of spring,” Montgomery said. “Six of the seven victims were second-home owners, and most likely they (the crimes) are related.”
The burglaries have occurred on Thundering Brook Road, River Road, East Mountain Road and Telefon Trail.
Montgomery said it is difficult to pin down when exactly the crimes occurred because they have been discovered by property managers, but Montgomery said he has an idea of the type of people committing the crimes.
“Most of the things being stolen are copper wire and copper piping and that is an indication of drugs, that the perpetrators are selling the stolen property to buy drugs,” he said.
A member of the public asked Montgomery if there are more burglaries than usual. He said there aren’t necessarily more than usual, but that the crimes are happening earlier than usual.
In response, Montgomery has increased his patrols. The town has also reached out to the State Police for more patrols and has signed a contract with the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department to patrol the 44 miles of roads in town.
“We wanted to react as soon as possible and we’ve always had a good relationship with the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department,” Montgomery said.
The funds for the sheriff patrols come from the contracted services portion of the police department budget approved by voters at town meeting in March.
Also at town meeting, voters approved an article changing the constable jobs from elected to appointed positions. The town has received applications to fill a second constable’s position and is “cautiously optimistic” it will hire another police officer in June, said Town Manager Seth Webb.
The town is also holding a neighborhood watch meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Sherburne Memorial Library.
“It’s important for citizens to get involved as much as they can when they can,” Montgomery said. “Eight hundred pairs of eyes are more effective than one pair of eyes.”
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
First Constable Whit Montgomery told town officials and the public of the break-ins during Tuesday night’s Select Board meeting.
“We’ve had seven break-ins since the end of winter and start of spring,” Montgomery said. “Six of the seven victims were second-home owners, and most likely they (the crimes) are related.”
The burglaries have occurred on Thundering Brook Road, River Road, East Mountain Road and Telefon Trail.
Montgomery said it is difficult to pin down when exactly the crimes occurred because they have been discovered by property managers, but Montgomery said he has an idea of the type of people committing the crimes.
“Most of the things being stolen are copper wire and copper piping and that is an indication of drugs, that the perpetrators are selling the stolen property to buy drugs,” he said.
A member of the public asked Montgomery if there are more burglaries than usual. He said there aren’t necessarily more than usual, but that the crimes are happening earlier than usual.
In response, Montgomery has increased his patrols. The town has also reached out to the State Police for more patrols and has signed a contract with the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department to patrol the 44 miles of roads in town.
“We wanted to react as soon as possible and we’ve always had a good relationship with the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department,” Montgomery said.
The funds for the sheriff patrols come from the contracted services portion of the police department budget approved by voters at town meeting in March.
Also at town meeting, voters approved an article changing the constable jobs from elected to appointed positions. The town has received applications to fill a second constable’s position and is “cautiously optimistic” it will hire another police officer in June, said Town Manager Seth Webb.
The town is also holding a neighborhood watch meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Sherburne Memorial Library.
“It’s important for citizens to get involved as much as they can when they can,” Montgomery said. “Eight hundred pairs of eyes are more effective than one pair of eyes.”
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
No comments:
Post a Comment