Spike in Burglaries Prompts Mill Valley to Participate in National Night Out

With home burglaries are on the rise, Mill Valley police will come together with residents in three different areas of the city to enjoy an evening potluck and conversations as part of National Night Out.

The annual event encourages residents to meet their neighbors and get to know local law enforcement. It celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, but this is the first time Mill Valley has participated.

“We have seen an increase in burglaries this last year in Mill Valley, and Chief Bernal was looking for ways to get people more involved,” said Police Community Services Officer Sheryl Patton.

Police officials have said that Mill Valley had 27 home burglaries in the first six months of 2013, up from 34 in all of 2012. That’s a 60 percent jump compared to last year, and most of them have been during the day and of homes that were left unlocked.

Police made a plea to residents to lock their doors and to take basic security measures like turning on porch lights, setting your alarm and being aware of suspicious situations — like hearing a noise at a nearby house when you know they’re on vacation.

“Knowing your neighbors is really a great thing,” Patton said. “If you know what’s going on next door, you can call us when something looks wrong.”

To foster the relationship between police and citizens, the Mill Valley Police Department is working with three neighborhood associations to organize three National Night Out events on Tuesday, August 6.

“Everybody is kind of hanging out with a potluck,” Patton said.

The Enchanted Knolls community will get together at Hawke Park at 5:30 p.m. Shelter Bay will have kids games in the blocked-off parking lot around 6 p.m., and the Edgewood Cypress homeonwer’s association will meet at 438 Edgewood, also around 6 p.m.

“It’s also a good chance for all the homeowners associations — if they have an issue in their neighborhood — to get it out there,” Patton said.