Kingfield Saw Rash Of Burglaries

After a relatively uneventful summer, Southwest Minneapolis' Kingfield neighborhood has seen a rash of burglaries and thefts from cars in the last month.

Weekly crime maps provided by the Minneapolis police department show a sudden, strong concentration of these crimes in and around Kingfield park since Aug. 22. Since that date, there have been seven thefts from cars in the neighborhood, nine residential burglaries, and two business burglaries.

Representatives from the MPD's Fifth Precinct will be meeting with neighborhood residents tonight at a "traveling block party" organized by the Kingfield Neighborhood Association tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The group will meet at 38th and Grand Ave. 

To prevent car and house burglaries, police recommend you:

• Do not leave valuables unattended or unsecured on your property, in your vehicle, or in  public spaces.
• Keep valuables in your garage, house, or apartment, and lock your doors! This includes all garage, house, apartment, and car doors.
• Do not carry excess cash and credit cards.
• Secure outdoor furniture with a lock or place it inside when you are not using it.
• Lock your bike to something stationary, even if you are at home or just leaving it for a few minutes.
• Keep your property well‐lit during evening hours — remember: “lights on” deters crime.
• Know your neighbors and watch out for each other. Form or revitalize a block club.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Call 911 to report any suspicious behavior.

Some burglaries have been so-called "cut screen" burglaries where criminals take advantage of an open or unlocked window to slip into a house. To prevent this, police recommend installing pins that keep a window from being opened more than four to six inches when installed:

For double‐hung windows:

• Drill two holes through the lower sash and halfway into the upper sash at a slight downward angle.  Insert nails into the holes, or
• Install a track filler—a piece of wood or metal in the window track that  prevents the lower sash from being raised.

For sliding windows:

• Install a track filler—a piece of wood or metal in the window track that  prevents the window from sliding past a certain point (4‐6 inches).