Tamuning mayor hopes to beef up Neighborhood Watch to combat rash of burglaries

We've seen the videos and pictures. Broken car windows, suspicious vehicles casing houses, and CCTV footage of thieves caught in the act. Recently, there have been several reports of burglaries occurring throughout the Tamuning area, and the village mayor is speaking out. 

"There is a string of crime going on, where people are going into people's private properties," Mayor Lousie Rivera said. "Going into their cars, we're noticing a lot of people that are scoping out the area and so forth. We have been currently seeing a lot of postings on social media and on the neighborhood chat group, about suspicious vehicles going to the area or break-ins that have been happening. And so, it's a great concern."

Chances are, you've seen some footage like this on your social media feed. A thief, casually strolling around someone's home with one thing in mind, to take something that isn't theirs. 

"I've been working with the Guam Police Department, with our Tamuning Precinct, our commander and his team in regards to having more police presence out there in the community," Rivera said. "To do more patrolling, and we want to bring back the Neighborhood Crime Watch meetings."

Mayor Rivera says that the Neighborhood Crime Watch meetings gave the community a chance to voice their concerns to GPD but due to the pandemic, it's been a while.

"We used to have it scheduled every quarter," she said. "Where we have GPD come to our center, like a town meeting and meet with those interested in asking questions or just to hear what's going on and what we can better do to help our neighborhood."

Mayor Rivera says they're always looking to beef up their neighborhood watch program.

"We have a lot more signs we're posting up saying that, you know, we're watching you," she said. "We have a neighborhood crime watch, an outstanding neighborhood watch community. We just ask that everybody who cares and is concerned, be a part of this and if, you know. We want the crime to stop. We want to make sure everyone is safe. Then, I ask them to kindly give us a call, give me a call, and we'll put them on the chat and we'll work together to keep our community safe."

And a little reminder from the mayor to those out there with sticky fingers: "Burglaries shouldn't happen at all. People should just mind their private property. You know, If it's not yours, don't touch it!"

Rivera encourages the community to be vigilant, look out for your neighbor and to be active and participate in your respective neighborhood watch group meetings and chats. She also says that if you see anything suspicious in your community,, alert your respective police precinct.