Lower Merion Police Committee Discusses Recent Burglaries

The Lower Merion Police Department has been seeing a substantial number of calls related to break-ins and burglaries, Lower Merion Police Superintendent Michael McGrath said during his monthly report to the Police Committee at Wednesday night's Board of Commissioners meeting.

McGrath specifically cited the in which a 15-year-old, 16-year-old and 17-year-old are charged with robbing someone and displaying a handgun. The handgun was later determined to be a BB gun, but McGrath said neither the victim nor responding officers would be able to tell the difference.

Though not mentioned at the Police Committee meeting, at Tuesday's weekly briefing to the press, and there was a in late December.

Crime trends tend to be cyclical, McGrath said, and while specific individuals and groups have been responsible for some township burglaries, the most recent trend is that it is not one individual or one group but instead appears to be multiple individuals.

McGrath advised the public to report suspicious behaviors and activity rather than to be on the lookout for specific people or vehicles. He also advised homeowners to use alarm systems as a precaution. 

“When in doubt, call police,” said Commissioner Brian Gordon. “Lurking, sitting in cars … even so police can come by and see everything’s OK, the public is our first line of defense.”

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the crime discussed at the Police Committee meeting. The Merion crime referenced by McGrath was an armed robbery.