News of Madison Valley

September was the fourth consecutive month during which there were relatively few Madison Valley crimes reported to the police, and of the 39 incidents reported, approximately half were car prowls. Our car prowl numbers during the past few months have been reduced from what they would have otherwise been by the activities connected with the construction of the multi-use trail in the Arboretum. During a typical summer month there are usually three or four car prowls reported each month in the Arboretum, compared to an average of only one per month this summer.

Unlike August, there were no reported serious crimes against persons during September. There were, however, seven attempted or completed burglaries.

1. On Sept. 1 at around 5 P.M. someone broke a kitchen window of a residence on 30th Ave. E. near John and set off a home alarm system. When police arrived they found no evidence than anyone had gained entry. The owner was contacted and told to inform the police if she found that any of her belongings were missing.

2. Sometime during the night of Sept. 1–2 a burglar broke into the detached garage of a home on 22nd Ave. E. near Highland and stole two expensive bicycles and personal belongings that were in unlocked cars inside of the garage. The value of the stolen items was approximately $7000 and police found no fingerprints at the scene.

3. Sometime during Sept. 3–5, someone broke into the bicycle storage unit of an apartment building on Union near 24th and stole two bikes. At the time of the police report possible videos of the burglary taken by security cameras were not available.

4. On Sept. 12 police were called to a home on 32nd Ave. E. near Thomas to investigate a burglary that had occurred while the residents were away during the previous weekend. The burglar apparently entered the home through an unlocked back door and stole laptops and jewelry. Police were unable to find fingerprints.

5. On Sept. 19 at approximately 9 P.M. police responded after a home alarm had been triggered at a residence near 20th and Galer. When they arrived they found that someone had entered the home by prying off the screen and entering through a second floor window accessible via a balcony. The burglar rummaged through a bedroom on the first floor of the residence and set off the alarm when exiting through the front door. The owner was out of town at the time and thus the police report contains no information about what was stolen. Police found no fingerprints at the scene.

6. Sometime between 12:30 and 4:30 P.M. on Sept. 27 a burglar broke into a home on 26th Ave. E. near Mercer and ransacked several rooms in the house. The burglar stole cash and electronic equipment worth approximately $3,500 but curiously did not take other valuables that were in plain sight. For example, the burglar had obviously handled a wallet containing $400 but took none of the money it contained. Police found fingerprints at the scene.

7. At approximately 4 P.M. on Sept 27 juveniles wearing school backpacks gained access to the mail room of an apartment building on Union near 24th. Video cameras recorded them opening and stealing items from the packages. Although the police found no fingerprints, the video tapes enabled officers to identify two of the juveniles.

Lowell Hargens is a Madison Valley resident and former University of Washington professor of sociology specializing in the statistical analysis of data.