SUISUN CITY-
The police department in this small town of 30,000 residents says it will try to address a series of car break-ins in the Old Town and Waterfront areas of Suisun City.
A big concern was a recent incident in which the owner of car confronted a suspect and was shot.
“That’s concerning to anybody and it should bring the neighborhood together,” Police Chief Tim Mattos said.
Mattos said he welcomes an information exchange with residents and businesses scheduled for Wednesday evening. He said they were trying to find solutions before crimes escalate.
While the car break-ins for the most part have been non-violent, Mattos said every crime is big to the victim.
One of them was John Harter, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood who runs Waterfront Comics in Old Town. He had an iPhone taken but chalks it up to an isolated incident because he left his car unlocked.
Harter doesn’t believe there is a crime spree, but says longtime residents are more sensitive to any kind of crime and were right to talk up the issue through emails.
“It was real quick (how) it spread about what was going on,” said Harter.
Another Old Town resident Jordan Wilson chalks up the recent troubles to isolated streets, but otherwise feels safe with his family, including a young daughter. He’s lived in Suisun for about 18 months.
“I haven’t seen a lot of issues. It’s been beautiful, people have been very nice,” said Wilson.
Both Wilson and Harter say the police are doing a good job patrolling the area.
Chief Mattos said officers rely on residents to call them when they see or suspect crimes are being committed. He says when they can, they’ll respond to any crime report, no matter how minor.
Two-way communication with residents is important to Mattos.
“If we do accept the information and they don’t know we got it because we’re not responding, that’s no good,” said Mattos.
