A spate of home and auto burglaries in Atherton has spurred officials to organize a community meeting, set for Thursday, Jan. 31, about the recent uptick in the crimes. Mayor Bill Widmer said that some Atherton residents had requested a formal meeting to address their concerns.

Police Chief Steven McCulley and his department will host the meeting.

There were a number of burglaries in town in November and December. Among the incidents, someone stole $14,000 worth of electronics from Encinal Elementary School during the first weekend of December, and in another incident, someone stole roughly $225,000 worth of jewelry from a home.

On top of the burglaries, residents were spooked by the killing in December of former Atherton arborist Kathy Hughes Anderson on Valparaiso Avenue Menlo Park, across the street from Atherton, said Widmer, who plans to attend the meeting.

"They (Atherton residents) said, 'what are you guys (town officials and police) doing? How come we don't know what you're doing?'" Widmer said. The town, under the leadership of McCulley and City Manager George Rodericks, will communicate better with residents about crime in town, Widmer said. This includes more townwide Nextdoor posts, rather than posting to a single Nextdoor neighborhood in Atherton, he said.

Police Commander Joe Wade said that at least five or six Atherton police officers will attend the meeting and discuss the following topics:

Crime prevention tools and information

• Alarm systems

• Free alarm monitoring by the police department

• Residential security camera registration

• The police department records management system (Citizen RIMS: a website with day-to-day updates on police activity in town)

• How to receive timely information from the town and police department (through newsflashes, San Mateo County Emergency Alerts, town email newsletters and social media platforms)

• How crime reporting works.

Police had a similar meeting with residents when there was a surge in the number of burglaries in town about three years ago, Wade said.

"Anytime the town has a rash of crime, which doesn't happen often in Atherton, it's important to pull residents in and tell them what to look out for (to prevent crimes)," he said.

The most recent home burglary in town was on Jan. 25 around 6:30 p.m., according to a police press release. Burglars forced their way into a home on the 100 block of Tuscaloosa Avenue by smashing a second-story balcony window, surveillance footage showed. In another, burglars stole $10,000 worth of purses after forcing their way into a home on James Avenue by breaking a rear window between Jan. 25 and Jan. 28, according to a police press release. Police have not made any arrests related to the recent burglaries, Wade said, and the department has no concrete leads.

In November, police released a list of safety tips to prevent burglaries during the holidays:

• Leave interior and exterior lights on when you aren't going to be home at night, and leave exterior lights on when you are home in the evening.

• Make sure your alarm system is functioning properly and that it's activated while you're away.

• Consider installing security cameras.

• If you will be away, notify your neighbors so they can keep an eye on your home, and stop your mail and newspaper delivery.

• Ask the police department to check on your home while you're on vacation.

• Don't post about vacation plans on social media.

Coffee and dessert will be served at the meeting, which will take place at 7 p.m. in the Jennings Pavilion in Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave. in Atherton.

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