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Quincy Residents On Alert After Spike In Home Break-Ins

QUINCY (CBS) - Quincy Police say they've had more than 20 break-ins since November and what makes them unusual is that they're happening between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. when people are home from work.

"I banged on the window and he fled," said Quincy resident Penny Spellberg.

You can see the suspect taking off in home security video. Spellberg says it happened in her backyard last Monday, not far from Adams Street.

"It's frightening to see somebody on your roof trying to get in," said Spellberg.

Quincy suspect
Quincy break-in suspect (Image from Quincy PD)

Another video shows the same suspect in light clothes and reflective sneakers. Quincy Police say they're seeing a pattern of break-ins where a suspect or suspects are forcing their way into homes around dinnertime.

"We're starting to get clusters and we started bringing in more and more officers to try and catch the person that's breaking in," said Quincy Police Lt. Dan Minton.

On Tuesday night, police had more than 30 undercover officers out patrolling the impacted neighborhoods.

Police also held an information meeting for worried residents.

"Our door was broken in half so we had to patch that back together for the night," said Dan Jewell, who was hit last November.

He was one of the many at Tuesday night's meeting looking to see what he can do to protect his home.

"Just trying to do whatever I can to get things secure as much as possible," Jewell said.

Police are asking anyone with security cameras to give them a call. They may help in the investigation, but more importantly they're asking people to call 911 right away if they see anything suspicious in their neighborhood.

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