Finlay Place Home Robbed

For the second time this month, an intruder pushed a window air conditioner into a South Orange home and ransacked the house, South Orange Police said.

In the latest incident, a Finlay Place resident told police an air conditioner was pushed through the window between 7 a.m. July 25 and 1:30 am July 27. Then, the burglar climbed through a rear bedroom window and stole a television, computer and jewelry.

About two weeks earlier, o
n July 12, a Hamilton Road resident told police someone also pushed in a first-floor window air conditioner and entered the house before stealing a 42-inch television, jewelry and electronics.

The South Orange police detective bureau is investigating the break-ins. South Orange police have issued the following tips to help homeowners protect themselves from home break-ins:

1.  Secure your TV’s with a child-proof cable or other safety harness (usually accompanying the appliance when you purchased it). Typically these cables are provided to prevent children from pulling these appliances off of consoles or wall brackets, but they will also deter criminals from easily removing them from your home.
2.  Check around the outside of your home/apartment to determine whether people can enter through windows and doors. Also, inspect your basement windows and secure them if they are loose, unmaintained, or can be compromised.
3. Residents should remove chairs, garbage cans and tables that may be used by criminals to reach windows and other home access points.
4. If suspicious people ring the doorbell or are seen in the apartment hallways, and contact is made, pay attention to the physical description of the individual(s) and what they say. If suspicious, call South Orange police at (973) 763-3000, ext. 2.
5. Turn your alarms on and activate them at all times. An alarm company can install a system in apartment units, if you do not already have one.
6. Make sure the window and door locks securely. This is especially important for apartment fire escapes and balconies.

The Community Relations Bureau of the South Orange Police Department offers free home inspections. For more information, call Sgt. Al DiEsso  at (973) 763.3000, ext. 7802 or click here.