BOUNTIFUL -- Police need residents to be vigilant in protecting themselves. And residents need to call police if anyone arouses their suspicion. Bountiful Police Chief Paul Rapp told nearly 100 residents living near Muir Elementary School Thursday night -- an area which has experienced a rash of burglaries recently -- that they can do much to protect themselves and their neighbors. Rapp not only drew a picture of the problem facing po-lice, but offered tips residents anywhere can use to better protect themselves from crime. The chief emphasized the point that Bountiful (and surrounding communities) are no longer the sleepy little hamlets where everyone could be trusted and doors didn't have to be locked.

"By simply locking your doors, you can reduce your chance of being a victim by 90 percent," the chief said.

Rapp shared a startling statistic that in 90 percent of burglaries committed in Bountiful last year the burglar got in through an unlocked door.

Most burglars arrested in south Davis County are from Salt Lake City and West Valley City, areas Rapp called "very strong pockets of crime." Criminals from those areas have infiltrated Davis County. Most steal to get money to satisfy a drug addiction, he said.

Rapp covered a lot of ground in the hour-long meeting, sharing the challenges of law enforcement and answering questions.

Most burglaries today happen during the day, Rapp said. With 75 percent of women working outside the home, 90 percent of men working during the day and the kids at school, most homes are unoccupied between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

He said in many of the cases seen in Bountiful recently, burglars outfitted themselves as window washers. They would ring the doorbell, and if someone answered, they would say they were there to wash windows. When the homeowner would say they didn't have an appointment scheduled, the burglar would say he must have the wrong address.

But if no one answered, they would take a ladder around to a deck door, let themselves in, and walk out with valuables, Rapp said.

Police in Bountiful and Centerville worked together to bust one such operation, when a teenager called 911 after he confirmed his parents had not hired a window washer. The burglar was stopped two blocks away.

Rapp said that crimes are often solved because neighbors inform police when they see someone who shouldn't be there.

One burglar in the area was arrested several times in a three-month period because he was able to post bail each time he was arrested. Rapp said that each time he was let out of jail, he committed a number of burglaries before being caught again. But until the young man was sentenced for the first crime, he couldn't be held in jail, and Rapp said that because it is a nonviolent crime, the young man may serve only six months of a one- year sentence.

Rapp also spoke about the city's revamped Neighborhood Watch and emergency preparedness programs.

Kent Servoss, in charge of customer service for Bountiful City Light and Power, offered his own safety tips, telling those in attendance to be aware of people representing themselves as utility employees.

He said all Bountiful City employees carry identification badges and wear a marked baseball cap. Meter readers also wear blue vests.

Other utilities have similar guidelines for employees. Servoss said if a resident ever has a question, they can ask for the employee's identification card.



mwilliams@davisclipper.com