By Jason Emerson

Editor

In a period of one week, three kayaks have been stolen around Cazenovia Lake — one from a private dock and two from the Lakeside Park kayak rack — and all three had the locks cut and taken along with the kayaks. In that same week, a camera and laptop computer were stolen out of an unlocked car on Lincklaen Street.

While the recent thefts do not constitute a “rash” of robberies in the village, they are a reminder to people that even locked items can be stolen, and police need complete information about property in order to recover it, said Cazenovia Police Chief Michael Hayes.

“My advice to residents is, yes, secure your property, but you also must give us the information we need to track them down,” Hayes said.

The recent incidents include the reported larceny of a kayak that was chained to a dock at a residence on Hickory Street that occurred sometime overnight on July 8. On July 16, two kayaks, also chained, were reported stolen from the village kayak racks in Lakeside Park. On that same day, the camera and laptop computer were stolen from an unlocked car. Police have found no connection between the two July 16 crimes but are still investigating, Hayes said.

In June, a scooter was stolen at the high school and two mini motorbikes were stolen off a front porch on Forman Street.

In most of these cases, the property owners could not give police the basic information they needed to track down the stolen property, Hayes said. “Any lock can be broken, and there are things people can do to help us help them track down their stolen property,” he said.

Basic information police need — and everyone should record on their personal items — to find stolen items includes make, model, size, manufacturer, year, color and, most importantly, serial number. All pawn shops and commercial dealers must keep written records of their merchandise.

“We need a serial number in order to send out a statewide teletype,” Hayes said. “We have contacts with pawn shops and major kayak dealers we check with to track down stolen property; but without the serial number, there’s nothing anybody can do.”

Hayes also said he encourages people to report thefts immediately — there is a greater chance for recovery and arrest if there is no delay in reporting a crime, he said.

The Cazenovia Police Department can be reached at 655-3276. Leave a message if an officer does not answer the phone.