Baldwin Park 'walk-in' crimes rise

Out of the 102 car burglaries in Baldwin Park this year, 100 of them took place with no more force than a quick easy click of the door handle.

Orlando Police Department records show that only two of the reported car burglaries in the area had any evidence of forced entry. All 100 other targeted cars were unlocked.

“That crime isn’t inherent to y’all, it’s inherent to a community that thinks they’re safe and doesn’t lock their cars,” Orlando Commissioner Robert Stuart told members of the Baldwin Park Neighborhood Watch at a meeting last Wednesday.

To keep up to date on crime in your area, check out spotcrime.com and crimereports.com. The Baldwin Park Neighborhood Watch will host a general interest meeting for residents not currently involved with its programs on Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Grace Hopper Hall.

Concerns about crime are back on Baldwin Park residents’ radar after a reported failed abduction of a jogging teenager took place in the community Sept. 22. OPD’s detective James Gardner said that case is still under investigation, and that the department is looking into whether the suspicious person who tried to pull the teen into his truck bed could have been mentally handicapped.

Outside of that incident, Stuart said police reports show calls for service are down this year compared to last. Of the estimated 2,600 calls received by the police department from Baldwin Park, Stuart said about 500 have resulted in reported upon cases. This 5-to-1 ratio, Cpl. Kevlon Kirkpatrick said, is about normal for the area.

“We’re not doing too bad over here,” said Cpt. Isaiah White, who heads up OPD patrols for north Orlando.

Reports show that in Baldwin Park, residential and commercial burglaries are down, while the number for reported car burglaries are up. Both those numbers, Kirkpatrick said, could drop if residents always remembered to lock their homes and cars, not leaving anything of value visible from the outside.

“A lot of residential burglaries around here aren’t break-ins, they’re walk-ins,” Kirkpatrick said.

White said when word gets out doors are going unlocked crime can increase, “When you’re hunting, you go where the prey is.”

In addition to taking care by locking their own doors, Commissioner Stuart said the best way for Baldwin Parkers to be good neighbors is to call the police anytime they see a suspicious person or activity.

“The key to a successful Neighborhood Watch is if you’re calling more often,” Stuart said. “Tell your neighbors to call any time they see something that they feel is out of the ordinary.”