Strip malls and drug stores in Portland, Oregon have experienced a rash of rooftop burglars recently. On May 15th, a rooftop burglar broke through the roof of a strip mall located at Foster Road and Southeast 82nd and into a nail salon. After robbing the nail salon, the burglar broke through the wall and into the adjacent store, which he also proceeded to rob. Rather than retracing his route, the lazy thief completed his path of theft and destruction by smashing a window in the cell phone store and casually making his escape.
On May 18th, rooftop burglars broke into a wireless store located in the 9700 block of SE Washington Street of Portland. The rooftop burglars set off a burglar alarm this time and officers were on the scene within a minute. As quoted in this report of the incident, a sergeant of the Portland police said: “A couple of K9 officers joined us and we basically surrounded the strip mall.” Firefighters armed with a ladder arrived at the scene but the suspect had retreated to a coffee bar in the building. Alert officers heard him moving around and threatened to send in the K-9s after him; the burglar chose to surrender peacefully rather than face police dogs well-armed with teeth.
There have been several other rooftop burglars of cell phone stores in the Portland area lately and police detectives are trying to determine if the suspect was involved in any of the other incidents. In the meantime, a Sergeant of the Portland Police Bureau recommended that “businesses work together and make sure to have cameras.” He said that some strip malls have thin walls that make it easy for rooftop burglars to move from business to business once they’ve gained entrance through the roof.
These shopping centers and businesses are not clients of Stealth Monitoring. Stealth proactive live video surveillance can detect and deter crime in Portland and other cities in Oregon and the U.S., while reducing security guard and other expenses. A Stealth operator could have seen unusual activity like trespassers, people with masks, and unauthorized activity on the roof, activated a speaker warning to deter the thieves, and called the local police … before the rooftop burglars had the opportunity to break in through the roof and cause damage to the strip mall, drug stores, and individual stores.
Please contact Stealth today for more information to protect your shopping center. Visit our web site to see actual videos of criminals being apprehended at shopping centers, as well as other businesses, including this Catch of the Month of the Leaping Fitness Center Rooftop Burglar!
