Advocates believe Asian American households in the Eugene, Springfield area may again be targeted by organized burglars.
The warning comes about a month after prosecutors said they had made significant progress disrupting an organized burglary ring that had been targeting Asian American households and business owners.
Local Police and federal law enforcement arrested 7 people linked to a larger burglary ring that was targeting Asian American business owners and households last fall. Police said dozens of Asian American families across Washington and Oregon were singled out because of their race.
In a press release Wednesday, leaders from the Asian American Council of Oregon said they’d been told by local law enforcement that there had been an increase in organized burglary activity targeting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander households.
Eugene Police sent out their own warning last week, saying they had received information that similar crimes had recently occurred in two other Oregon cities.
Jenny Jonak, President of the AACO, said the repeated targeting has made many local Asian American families feel frustrated and unsafe.
"Despite the arrests, despite prosecutions, despite the public meetings and the repeated warnings, these burglaries are still continuing and there doesn't seem to be an end to that pattern of targeting Asian-American households,” she said.
She urged people across the region to be vigilant on behalf of their neighbors and call police if they see anything suspicious.
"Making connections with your neighbors, checking in on them, making sure that things are as they look like they're supposed to be," Jonak said. "That can be really helpful and it also helps people feel secure and that they're a valuable part of the community."
She said those that have already been targeted, or are worried they might be, can contact the Asian American Council of Oregon anonymously for assistance.
In their warning, Eugene police urged the public to entrust cash and valuables to financial institutions where they can be kept in safety deposit boxes. They also asked those with surveillance systems to consider hardwired video equipment, which is harder to use technology to disrupt.
Those involved in the burglary ring have been known to pose as delivery drivers or construction workers. Police urged neighbors to keep an eye out for unfamiliar people in neighborhoods when no work is going on, or people watching a home or business that seem suspicious.
