Authorities call for public's help to curb area burglaries

EDGEFIELD, S.C. --- The Edgefield County Sheriff's Office asked for the public's help Monday to curb a recent spike in home and business burglaries.

Residents are being asked to report unusual vehicles in their neighborhoods.

"If they see a suspicious vehicle in the area, a vehicle that is riding around and around, then try to get the tag number and a description of who is inside the vehicle," said Sheriff's Investigator Randy Doran. "We don't recommend that anyone approach these vehicles on their own, but just try to get as much information as they can safely. Everyone just needs to look out for one another."

Investigators estimate that Edgefield County burglaries increased from a handful to 20 to 25 a month in April and May.

Most often, the break-ins are taking place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when most homeowners are at work.

The sheriff's office said it has increased patrols, but the burglaries have continued.

Investigators first noticed the increased criminal activity in the Merriwether area.

"It started happening around April 4, and they have been increasing since then," said Investigator Doran. "We've had more (burglaries) in the last couple of months than we had all of last year. Lately we have been getting around one or two per day (countywide). ... Everybody wants to blame it on the recession, and that may be some of it because lots of people are out of work, but we feel these folks do this sort of thing for a living."

Investigator Doran said most of the homes being hit are some distance from other dwellings with substantial foliage and shrubbery blocking the view of the home.

"Ninety percent of them are happening during the day, and 90 percent don't have alarms," he said. "In cases where there were alarms, the alarms have scared them away. I definitely recommend (alarm systems), because they aren't picky with the houses they hit."

Investigator Doran said people who are out of town for vacation have also been targeted.

"If you don't have an alarm, get someone to check on the house at least a couple of times a day and have them actually get out and check the doors and windows. ... You can put the property on patrol check, but we are shorthanded as it is."