More than 50 residents of the San Geronimo Valley gathered at the Lagunitas School on Tuesday night to discuss a series of burglaries that have struck their villages in the last month. Supervisor Dennis Rodoni and Deputy Alex Brown from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office focused on what people could do to protect their homes. “We’re all concerned!” a woman called out when organizers expressed surprise at the number of attendees. There were two burglaries and an attempted break-in in San Geronimo on April 10; March 27 saw two burglaries in Forest Knolls and another in Lagunitas. All appear to have occurred in the middle of the day. “We don’t have any real close neighbors—that’s the beauty, and it’s a problem,” one Lagunitas resident said. Others said burglaries in the area began in December. “That blanket of time between noon and 3, people are doing errands or whatever, and then before school gets out, before they come back, people are coming in,” said Terry Fowler, a Forest Knolls resident whose home was burglarized decades ago. Residents also expressed concern over the increasing number of renters and vacationers in the area, which has made it difficult to know everyone in a neighborhood. “There’s a dual opportunity here,” Supervisor Rodoni responded, “you have a reason now to know your neighbors.” Denise Bohman, president of the Lagunitas School board, expressed particular concern that burglaries appeared to be happening during the hours that schoolchildren were returning home. “A hundred kids are walking home to empty houses as a lot of this stuff is going on,” she said. “Not to panic everyone, but let’s keep our eyes and ears on that.” Jean Berensmeier, who has lived in the valley for over five decades, said a rash of burglaries occurred in the valley back in 2010. “This is not something to get super scared about,” she said, “but do report anything immediately. If you see suspicious activity, don’t wait till you get home to pull to a safe place—call the number, let them take care of it, but do it promptly.” Deputy Brown echoed the sentiment, saying that officers “are not unhappy with coming to investigate something that turns out to be nothing.” A Lagunitas couple whose home was burglarized said the thieves “are not going to do this again—we are turning our house into Fort Knox.” They have since installed four cameras and contracted with Redwood Security; they also cautioned anyone whose Apple devices have been stolen to enable the “lost” mode in the “find your phone” app so that when the stolen device is turned on or connected to the internet it will alert the owner. A handful of other home-safety suggestions were brought up during the meeting: having an alarm system not connected to electricity, as the thieves have been known to cut electrical wires; leaving devices such as televisions or radios on while away from home; creating a neighborhood watch patrol; and installing alarm systems or more physical barriers to entry such as window bars. Deputy Brown added that residents should be careful about their social media posts, especially ones that document vacations in real time. For his part, the deputy blamed the recent burglaries on Proposition 47, which downgraded a series of non-serious, nonviolent crimes—including grand theft and the personal use of illegal drugs—from felonies to misdemeanors. When pressed, however, he offered no evidence linking the legislation to the crimes. He added that patrols in the area have been increased due to the burglaries. One resident who was home when a thief started to enter said he saw a white sedan with a Hispanic male in the passenger’s seat outside, but the sheriff’s office has no suspects.