Lynn Police Dept. asks if you see something, say something to help fight crime

LYNN – If you see something sketchy or not quite right in your neighborhood, the Lynn Police Department is urging you to report it.The request comes as a result of recent breaking and entering incidents where officers responded, canvassed the neighborhoods and were unable to get any information to solve the cases. Police spokesman Christopher Kelly said the suspects may have been caught if only neighbors had been more alert and on the lookout.?One time, an officer spoke with a neighbor about a breaking and entering, who said he saw someone walking down the driveway (of a home broken into) but didn?t want to get involved,” Kelly said. “Another time, someone said they heard a loud bang when a break occurred, but never bothered to call the police. Because of that, we?re trying to stress the importance of reporting things to the police.”Kelly said most residential crimes happen because the opportunity to commit them existed. While there isn?t a way to completely prevent crime, Kelly said the watchful eye of a neighbor can lessen the amount of it.?It?s important for us to get the information as fast as possible,” Kelly said. “Officers do observe things while on patrol in their cruisers or on foot patrol, but we obviously rely heavily on calls from the public.”In release issued by the Lynn Police, Kelly said a few methods to prevent crimes from happening in your own home are as follows: always lock doors and windows because all too often, a home is entered through an unlocked window or door; never leave wallets, credit cards, iPods or car keys within view of an open window or door because they can easily be snatched; make sure air conditioners are securely fastened into the window frame, because a common tactic by burglars in the summer season is to push the air conditioner in to gain entry.Another method of crime to look out for is door-to-door sales operations.?Door to door sales are not permitted in Lynn without a city issued permit,” Kelly said. “Anyone going door to door in your neighborhood without obvious reason should prompt a call to the police.”Anyone with information about a crime is asked to call the police at 781-595-2000. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting the word tiplynn and the information to tip411. Tips can also be sent through the department?s website www.lynnpolice.org and clicking the “submit tip” icon.?We don?t require people to give their names or call back numbers when they report a crime, even though it?s beneficial to us,” Kelly said. “We?re not out to make anyone?s problems worse for them.”