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Cheverly police are advising residents to have an important New Year's resolution: remember to lock all windows and doors.

Cheverly's total number of burglaries has increased for the second year in a row, according to estimates for 2009, and town police hope residents will do more in 2010 to secure their belongings and be aware of their surroundings.

Town burglaries increased 16 percent, from 49 in November 2008 to 57 this November, according to data from Police Chief Buddy Robshaw. Total end-of-year crime data will not be compiled until Jan. 6, he said.

Robshaw said many burglaries could be prevented if people took the time to secure their belongings.

He added there are not enough burglaries to suggest that the burglars are motivated by profit, to support a drug habit or to gain social status among peers.

"The motive is more about, ‘We got one over on these people' than the traditional things," Robshaw said. "I'm convinced of that — I don't know how to prove it, though."

Burglaries as of November, the most recent official statistics available, already surpass a yearly total of 55 town burglaries in 2008, a 25 percent increase from 44 in 2007, according to town police statistics.

A majority of the incidents were a result of no forced entry, meaning intruders entered through an unlocked door or window, Robshaw said.

The biggest spikes came in the months of July and October, Robshaw said. There were 12 burglaries — all during the daytime — in July occurring between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and mostly in Ward 4. There were 11 burglaries in October, four occurring at nighttime between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., a rarity in the town since most occur during daylight hours, he said. There were fewer burglaries at the end of the year, which Robshaw said he attributes to officers switching up their coverage schedules.

"We got a ton of fingerprints from all these cases, but the last time I heard the [Prince George's County Police Department Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification System Unit] is like nine months behind in entry," Robshaw said. "I don't know when they'll be in there for comparison. These cases could be closed right now. We just don't know it yet."

Robshaw will print out 2,500 informational sheets to deliver to residents in January explaining how they can keep their homes safe from unauthorized entry by simply locking their windows and doors and how to spot suspicious vehicles outside their home. Police will offer a $1,000 reward to information that leads to an arrest in the burglaries, Robshaw said.

"If I had a suspect right now I could at least take them over to the county's fingerprinting system," Robshaw said. "They'll do that for you if you have a suspect. You just don't get randomly checked."

Resident Peter Isaacson, 70, said he believes the town newsletters and signboards give adequate notice to residents about securing their homes and valuables. Isaacson co-chairs the Cheverly-Police and Citizens Together neighborhood watch group with Denise Ryan that meets at the Cheverly Police station the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

Isaacson said Robshaw has walked through his home and made suggestions for light sensors and window locks and that the same service is offered to any resident. He also touted the Cheverly Radio Watch Program, which launched in September 2008 and allows residents to sign up for a radio to report crime in real-time to town officers.

"He's got all these programs, but how can you force [residents] to do it?" Isaacson said.