It seems nothing is sacred to some crooks.
Since January in the Lower Northeast’s 2nd Police District, a church, a church school and three other religious facilities have been burglarized, said Capt. Frank Palumbo.
Palumbo, the 2nd District’s commander, said last week that the break-ins have netted burglars electronic equipment, lawn-care gear and cash.
The burglaries didn’t occur at the same time of day or day of the week, said Dianne Murphy, the 2nd’s community relations officer.
The first occurred on the 1200 block of Cottman Ave. on Jan. 31, Murphy said. A back door of a religious charity organization was forced. Burglars ransacked an office and stole a computer system. On Feb. 14, a church school on the 1200 block of E. Cheltenham Ave. was broken into, but nothing was stolen. On April 19, a Chinese Christian organization’s headquarters on the 1000 block of Cottman Ave. was entered through a basement door. A computer printer and $100 were stolen along with checks worth $900, Murphy said.
The same building was hit on May 10. The office was ransacked, Murphy said, and $200 was stolen. On April 23, a church’s locked shed on the 1100 block of Hartel Ave. was broken into. Burglars removed a weed trimmer, two leaf blowers and a lawn mower.
Palumbo said churches should follow the ordinary precautions of locking doors and windows and do whatever they can to beef up security.
Murphy said the institutions should look into getting alarms or motion-activated lights. ••
