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Churches Urged to Watch for Burglars
01/04/10 - 01:54 PM

Jackson County Floridan

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Jackson County’s places of worship may want to lock up the electric guitars and other expensive equipment, as a rash of church burglaries begins to spread across the region.

Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts said Monday that authorities in north-central Florida notified him recently of several such thefts in areas well south of Tallahassee over the past few weeks. They warned that some such incidents have now been reported in Leon County itself.

Roberts said the thieves appear to be working along the main corridors, U.S. highways 19 and 27, and then drop down into less-traveled areas to victimize other churches in the communities they target.

Roberts is asking for the public’s help in protecting local churches.

“If you’re riding down the road and see unusual activity at a church you pass by regularly, if something doesn’t look right for the time of day, please call us and let us come by and take a look,” Roberts said.

He also said church leaders may need to take extra security measures to safeguard valuables in the buildings.

Some churches, for instance, tend to leave their musical instruments out in the open from Sunday to Wednesday. That may not be the best idea right now, he said. Any cash should be removed from the building, as well.

“Sometimes you don’t think about churches being potential victims, but really, they’re vulnerable because they’re usually empty during the week except Sundays and Wednesdays,” he said. “I guess someone is taking advantage of that, and we don’t want our local churches to become victims. We’ll have law enforcement officers out conducting checks at churches in their respective areas, but we need the public’s help, too.”

Doors and windows should be secured, and the sanctuary should be checked as often as possible, Roberts said.

“Intelligence indicates that this criminal activity appears to be moving into Northwest Florida,” he wrote in a press release about the thefts. “Churches that have been targeted are in small to medium towns, and are usually ones that are a good distance off the road.”

According to Roberts, 58 churches in north-central Florida have been victimized so far.

“Primary entry has been made through doors and windows,” he wrote. “The majority of these burglaries have occurred Sunday evening through Monday, and Wednesday evening through Thursday. There have been some on Fridays and Saturdays, usually after an event.”