Burglaries Decline in City

The rate of burglaries in Fredericksburg has declined slightly from 2010. Between January 1 and November 15, 2011, there were 82 reported burglaries in the city. In that same frame in 2010, there were 103 burglaries reported in the city.

Since the start of October, more than a quarter of all residential break ins in Fredericksburg have occurred while residents have been home.

According to Fredericksburg Police Department spokesperson Natatia Bledsoe, there have been 27 reported burglaries or breaking and entering incidents in the city, six of which were committed against businesses.

Of the 21 remaining residential break ins, five happened as residents were inside their homes, including two reported last week. Another incident was interrupted by the return of the resident.

"Obviously, the suspect has a very good chance of being arrested if the B&E occurs while the residents are at home," wrote Bledsoe in an email.

On October 16, a homeowner on Herndon Street performed a citizens arrest on an intruder found in his home.

On November 2, at 9 p.m. a College Avenue resident found a stranger in his living room and scared him off. The suspect is still at large.

On November 10, a Washington Avenue homeowner was interrupted at 10:20 p.m. when an incoherent man stumbled into their living room before being told to leave. A suspect was later arrested near Hazel Hill.

On November 27, a youth was arrested after he entered a home through a front window before being chased off by a resident. The trespasser left as he entered, through the window. The youth was soon arrested and is now in the juvenile detention center.

Last week, two more break-ins occurred as residents were inside, both on December 1. An ex-boyfriend was discovered sneaking through a Forest Village Apartment bedroom window. The suspect was later arrested on Fall Hill Avenue.

Residents at a home on Littlepage Street returned to discover an intruder inside their home. The suspect fled through the back door. No arrest has been made.

The Fredericksburg Police Department boasts a 32.7 percent closure rate for burglaries in 2010, according to numbers on file with the FBI. That's far above the national average of 12. 5 percent in 2010.

Last year's burglary closure numbers are helped by the arrest of repeat offenders who were connected to multiple burglaries, noted Bledsoe in an email.