The Thanksgiving holiday this year saw an overall decrease in burglaries
taking place in the city.

According to a news release from the Columbia Police Department, there
were 24 residential burglaries from Nov. 16 through Nov. 27, down 12 from
Thanksgiving week last year. The police department’s record system does
not differentiate between student housing and non-student housing.

The burglaries were committed in north, central and south Columbia,
according to the news release.

CPD spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said the decrease from last year
signifies the combined efforts of the citizens and police department.

“It is a combination of officers working overtime patrolling the streets and getting information on preventive measures out to the public,” Stroer said.

Last year, the department organized a Burglary Prevention Detail. This
year, in addition to the detail, a news release about it was sent out to
increase the detail’s visibility.

The Burglary Prevention Detail is a group of officers patrolling overtime,
both in uniform and plain clothes, and marked and unmarked cars.

Beside that, the department has done nothing different in its methods of
operation, Stroer said.

The police have no new suspect or vehicle information regarding the
burglaries.

There were three commercial robberies between Nov. 18 and Nov. 29 last
year, but none took place during this year’s holiday.