Trackers hidden on cars and small cameras tucked into yards are just two ways highly trained teams of thieves have targeted affluent homeowners in Oakland County.
Sheriff Mike Bouchard estimates about 100 such teams are operating across the U.S. moving from one community to another breaking into homes and stealing money, jewelry and other small valuables.
He led a town hall for area residents with Bloomfield Hills Police Captain Thomas Van Simaeys and Bloomfield Township Police James Gallagher Monday night at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills.
Nearly 100 area residents attended, listening closely as officials shared details and showed video clips from homes that have been broken into and robbed.
After recapping the rise of foreign gangs dispatching thieves across the U.S., Bouchard said southeast Michigan has experienced thefts by groups from Chile and Colombia since last summer. He warned that Venezuelan gangs have been detected in other states.
Chileans will leave a home quickly if it’s occupied, Bouchard said. The Colombian gangs tend to be more confrontational and violent, he said.
Secluded homes near golf courses, woods, lakes or parks are more likely to be targeted. The thieves often enter by a second-story backyard window.
Police have detected Colombian crews in Oakland County over the last two weeks, Bouchard said. He estimates between 40 and 50 homes have been broken into and robbed since last year.
Seven Chileans have been arrested in two types of crimes, he said, including a smash-and-grab jewelry store robbery and area home invasions. The audience applauded when he said they remain in Oakland County’s jail. Gallagher said police departments are asking prosecutors for charges with higher penalties.
At one point thieves were stealing up to $1 million a week in valuables from Oakland County, Bouchard said. Gallagher said nearly every home in one Oakland Township neighborhood had been hit.
The thieves spend time watching a neighborhood to figure out residents’ habits, sometimes making videos or taking photos. In some cases, they use drones in the planning process.
The crews carry such tools as crowbars, diamond testers, and sophisticated electronics for jamming wireless security systems. He recommended basing wireless systems toward the front of the home to make jamming more difficult.
Bouchard said these gangs send teams into the U.S. by illegally crossing the border but some others arrived legally using the visa waiver program, which allows people from certain countries to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days for business or pleasure.
Once the gang members get here, Bouchard said, they often assume a Puerto Rican identity, because Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens – and local police officers often can’t tell the difference between a fake foreign ID and a real one.
“(These gangs) are extremely well trained and well equipped,” Bouchard said, comparing them to special operations teams in the military. One video clip showed a small team, dressed in black, break a window and disable wireless security systems in a matter of seconds – a few in the audience gasped at the speed of entry. Other videos showed a team of four rolling a large safe outside the house into a waiting vehicle.
Another reason they’re so fast, Bouchard said, is they know exactly what to look for. The safes are taken elsewhere and broken into. In one case a duck hunter alerted police to a safe in a small lake, he said.
The other stolen items are boxed up and shipped to a second location in New York, Florida or California before being resold or, in the case of metals, melted down, Bouchard said.
A woman in the audience asked about a series of small thefts from health clubs, which Bouchard said is being done by different groups than the home invasion gangs.
One man in the audience said his home was among those burglarized. The thieves didn’t want his shotgun or 9 mm handgun but hid them elsewhere in the home. But “they did like Louis Vuitton bags,” he said.
Bouchard said the thieves typically hide the firearms to avoid getting shot, recalling another recent home invasion where a missing firearm was found in a bush outside the home.
Others in the audience asked what type of glass they should have in their windows and what alarm companies to use.
The lawmen said they couldn’t endorse any alarm company and each homeowner must decide what security measures were cost effective. Van Simaeys, of Bloomfield Hills, encouraged people to have their alarm company call police before calling the homeowner to cut down on response times.
Bouchard encouraged people to join or form neighborhood watch groups or simply call police if they notice suspicious activity on their street.
Anything that delays or frustrates the thieves, he said, is good because it gives police time to get to the home.
One woman asked why all of the safety information was being made public. Bouchard said he wants the thieves to know residents are warned and prepared – and he wants them to know law enforcement agencies at all levels are working together.
“We’re gonna be relentless looking for them,” he said. “Watch out for your neighbors and don’t be afraid to call (the police).”
Tips for homeowners:
• Layer security. Use motion detectors on all floors and a combination of wireless and hardwired devices and cameras. Device coverage should overlap for a 360-degree view.
• Use different companies for security, Bouchard said, because thieves can disable devices operated by a single company more quickly than several types of security.
• Always turn on security devices, even if you’re at home so that it’s a habit, Bouchard said.
• Keep the local police department or sheriff’s office number on your phone. Bouchard said one out-of-town homeowner called their real estate agent after getting an break-in alert. “They couldn’t dial 911 because they were out of town,” Bouchard said.
• Take photos of your valuables – but if you use your phone’s camera, put the photos in a second location, in case the phone is lost or damaged.
• Record serial numbers of valuables.
• Don’t keep all your valuable jewelry at home – use a bank safety deposit box. Bouchard said thieves make a beeline for any home’s master bedroom, knowing that’s where most valuables are, even if they’re hidden.
• Don’t keep large amounts of cash at home. Bouchard said small business owners have been targeted after bringing home cash receipts from their shops.
• Vary your daily routine.
• Don’t leave a garage door opener in cars parked in the driveway.
• Lock the door between the attached garage and the house.
• If you’re buying a safe, choose one that is fireproof.
• Large safes should be secured to the floor.
• Don’t share vacation plans or photos on social media until the trip is over.
• Use outside motion-detection lights.
Bloomfield Community Television (BCTV) recorded the session and will post the video online and broadcast locally.