Concern growing over burglaries in Monterey County
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) The Monterey County Sheriff's Office said there have been 62 thefts and burglaries in the county since the beginning of this month, ranging from break-ins of cars to businesses.
Just this weekend, McShane's Landscape Supply was broken into. Owner and Salinas City Councilmember Steve McShane told us someone tried to steal a safe.
“We have been a victim not once, not twice, but five times,” McShane said.
Security cameras caught the break-in early Saturday morning. In the past, McShane said burglars have also appeared to be interested in the safe.
“They weren’t looking for equipment or some of our material or supplies. They went right for the safe. They didn’t even go for computers or anything else. It was a quick in and out and unfortunately they made off with money and credit cards,” McShane said.
But thankfully, this time, he said the suspects dropped the safe.
“The sheriff’s department came out, chased the perpetrators into the adjoining field and they dropped our safe,” McShane said.
He told us the burglar got away, but now, the business has taken more steps to better secure and alarm the business.
“We improved all of our security lighting,” McShane said. “We also invested in a Blink camera system because the alert was what tipped us off.”
Another landscaping business owner out on Garden Road in Monterey reached out to us Wednesday night and said they too were broken into twice, losing thousands of dollars in equipment.
The sheriff’s office told KION theft and burglary is the number one crime they see in the county.
“We’ve had a fair amount of businesses burglarized where they take tools or money or other items that are at that business. A fair amount of cars that get broken into,” Chief Deputy John Thornburg said. “Agricultural places do as well. They seem to be looking for tools and other equipment that would be used in ag fields and/or something that somebody can sell.”
But there are some steps you can take to better protect your business from burglary. The US Chamber of Commerce Foundation recommends protecting your premises with a monitored security system, keeping cash and valuables in a secure location and concealing wiring at your business. Make sure cameras cover entrances, exits and other sensitive areas.
The sheriff’s office said they don’t know just yet if any of these 62 burglaries are connected.
