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Uknowit
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Posted: Mon Jul 20th, 2009 05:33 pm |
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| No need to worry about the missing pool property, that fine detective division will find it once they get back from their two hour lunches.
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Zach Colick
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| Joined: | Mon Jan 15th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Jun 2nd, 2009 06:32 pm |
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Editor's note: The following story appears in the June 3 Town of Paradise Valley Independent. Post comments by hitting reply in the upper right-hand corner. Comments will be posted in an upcoming issue of the Town of Paradise Valley Independent.
Police see rash of stolen pool property
9 incidents reported since April; no leads or arrests
By Zach Colick
Independent Newspapers
Memorial Day traditionally marks the start of the summer swim season, but for some Paradise Valley residents, the pool season may be delayed due to a rash of burglaries that have seen vandals target pool vacuums, pumps and other miscellaneous equipment.
PVPD Lt. Alan Laitsch said there have been nine residential burglaries involving stolen pool materials since the beginning of April at a number of Paradise Valley homes. Law enforcement officials say they have no leads and have not made any arrests.
Although the crimes are similar in nature, Lt. Laitsch said vandals don’t seem to be pinpointing any specific neighborhood or any specific item.
The lieutenant said the majority of the crimes occur at homes currently under construction or renovation, or the homeowners were simply out of town. Stolen pool equipment has also been reported at Paradise Valley homes that are vacant due to a pending sale or that are under foreclosure.
“For most of these reports, one person could carry a lot of the equipment or they could have had a small vehicle that would have been able to conceal these pool materials when they were leaving the scene,” Lt. Laitsch said.
According to the latest police reports for the week of May 18 through May 24, there were four incidents involving stolen pool property.
Police officers responded approximately 1 p.m. May 8 to a home on the 6600 block of North 40th Street in reference to a residential burglary complaint, where a resident reported someone had gained entry to her fenced yard and removed a pool vacuum.
Two days later at approximately 9 a.m. May 11 officers responded to a home on the 7000 block of East Palo Verde Lane in reference to a theft complaint.
The victim reported someone had gained entry to a residence under construction and removed miscellaneous pool equipment.
The Paradise Valley Police Department also responded 7:09 a.m. May 13 to a home on the 8600 block of North 64th Place in reference to a theft complaint. The resident said someone gained entry to their backyard and removed a pool vacuum.
They also responded 10:14 a.m. May 14 to a home on the 6700 block of East Rovey Avenue, when a male resident reported someone gained entry to his fenced backyard and removed miscellaneous pool equipment.
Lt. Laitsch said while it’s possible someone in the pool business is stealing the items to replace parts at nearby homes for free, or is nabbng them to sell for a higher value elsewhere, the most likely scenario involves thieves simply wanting to cash in on pool equipment that oftentimes cost a pretty penny to replace.
Pool pumps can cost anywhere between $200 and $600, depending on pump and pool size, while vacuums and various other cleaning systems can run $1,000 and up. Structural damage to pools themselves can be the real problem and expensive to repair.
“Certainly if you cut the plumbing off, there can be real problems,” Lt. Laitsch said.
Lt. Laitsch noted he and other PVPD officials have not heard from area pool store owners who have seen a rash of returned pool pumps and other products that seem sketchy in nature or out of the ordinary.
This sort of activity in Paradise Valley “isn’t odd by any means,” according to Lt. Laitsch.
“We have periodically experienced these types kinds of thefts in the past,” he said. “It’s not odd, and it is happening in other places in the Valley as well. But to have nine (incidents) in that short of time period is high for us.”
Residents are encouraged to padlock their backyard and frontyard gates to discourage vandals from gaining access to their homes.
Such security also safeguards young, curious children, oftentimes unsupervised, from gaining access to backyards and falling into pools and drowning.
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