Cops fear they're targets of gun thieves FIREARMS

Burglarizing a police officer's home or car may seem like a smooth path toward a jail cell. But a recent surge of such thefts has Bay Area cops on high alert, with some wondering if they are more than random victims and are being targeted for their guns.

In San Francisco, someone snatched a semiautomatic rifle from the trunk of an unmarked police car two weeks ago, a weapon that was recovered two days later in East Oakland. A day before that theft, burglars in Richmond poisoned two dogs at the home of a city K-9 officer before making off with two handguns and three long guns.

In Brentwood, three cops and one retired officer have had their homes burglarized this year - with nearly 20 guns ripped off in two of the break-ins. That followed a difficult 2012 in neighboring Antioch, where officials said five officers' homes had been burglarized and that most lost firearms.

Although no one is keeping statistics on the thefts, "there does seem to be a rise, and there definitely is concern," said Ron Cottingham, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California. "This is something that's occurred in the past sporadically, but (the recent burglaries) seem to be almost targeting cops' houses."

He said, "If you're a criminal or a gang member and you want guns, that's where you're going to go, right?"

Cop towns

Police officials in Brentwood and Antioch said they have found no evidence that crooks intended to go after those with a badge.

The cities are popular places to live for law enforcement officers who work around the region, officials noted, and it may be that police simply aren't immune to a broader jump in property crime. In Antioch, burglaries increased 30 percent last year, to 1,741 cases.

But in Richmond, investigators are certain their officer was pinpointed before his pet Labrador retriever was fatally poisoned and his police dog, a Belgian Malinois, was sickened.

Lt. Bisa French said the officer, because he was a K-9 handler, had taken home a special marked car and that the thieves had waited for him to take one of his poisoned dogs to the veterinarian before breaking into his house.

"We all have to be more cognizant of what's going on in light of all the burglaries," French said. "You sometimes think that when you're off-duty, that's your personal life. But people are still watching what we're doing, and we need to take that into consideration."

Supplying criminals

The burglaries bring into focus one of the biggest challenges the nation faces in cutting gun violence. Theft is one of the prime ways in which firearms are diverted to criminals on the streets, with 1.4 million guns reported stolen in the U.S. from 2005 to 2010, according to the Department of Justice.

California residents can be prosecuted for failing to keep a loaded gun out of the hands of a child. But there are no laws geared toward thwarting gun burglars, and the task is not easy: Brentwood police Sgt. Walter O'Grodnick said that in the two instances in which police officers lost guns in home burglaries, the thieves stole the weapons by carrying away the safes in which they were locked.

"Guns are one of the items that are prized by burglars when they break into houses," said Graham Barlowe, the head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' office in Sacramento. "Firearms are portable. They're concealable. They're high value. As other things sort of come in and out of favor, guns are a constant."

Luring burglars?

Gun-rights advocates argue that burglars may steer clear of homes where they know residents have firearms, to avoid being shot or captured. But some researchers who have studied gun theft say the opposite may be true - that burglars may be drawn to firearms. They say officers and other gun owners shouldn't advertise where they live.

"Anyone that has a sign saying, 'This house is protected by Smith and Wesson,' is gambling," said Philip Cook, a public policy professor at Duke University who found higher burglary rates in communities where many people own guns. "They're saying that this house has some loot available."

Safety tips

Wary of being targeted, some police departments require officers who take home marked cars to park them in a garage. Several Bay Area police officials said the recent burglaries were a reminder to officers to follow the same safety tips they give the public, such as using alarm systems and bolting safes to the floor.

"We have a lot of officers here who have installed video surveillance cameras at their homes," said Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques. "One officer set it up so that when someone rings his doorbell, it takes a photo and sends the photo to his phone."

She said, "It's what we're advocating to the community, and officers are starting to do the same thing. Practice what you preach."

High priority

For officers, there is tremendous incentive not to have guns stolen, because such weapons are commonly used in crimes. The recent San Francisco rifle theft prompted a departmentwide hunt, with Police Chief Greg Suhr saying, "No resources were spared."

The semiautomatic rifle turned up at a home in East Oakland, police said. No one has been arrested.

One of the police firearms taken in Brentwood this year was recovered this month in Alameda County during an arrest, officials said. No one was hurt, and the person who was arrested wasn't linked to the original burglary.

"We don't want to be putting law enforcement guns in a situation where criminals are going to be using them," said Antioch police Capt. Leonard Orman. "From a public trust standpoint, we do not take kindly to those guns being stolen."