Police alert Asian business owners

Thieves targeting their homes, Colonie authorities say

COLONIE — Colonie police are warning residents about a trend in home burglaries affecting Asian business owners, with dozens of cases in the past three years, including one over the Lunar New Year weekend.

In a social media post, the law enforcement agency highlighted incidents of burglaries targeting homes of Asian business owners, often during their work hours. Media outlets nationwide have reported similar warnings issued by police. Last year, a New York man admitted to conspiring between 2016 and 2019 to burglarize the homes of Asian small business owners across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

In Colonie, the most recent case occurred on Saturday with the owner of a Thai restaurant returning home to discover a burglary, said Deputy Chief Robert Winn, who declined to identify the business. Less than two weeks prior, two Asian women, one owning a nail salon, returned to find their rental house in Colonie burglarized, he said.

Over the last 12 months, cases have mainly involved restaurant and nail salon owners, Winn said. According to the department’s data, police responded to nine cases of home burglaries targeting Asian business owners last year, 10 in 2022, four in 2021 and zero in 2020. None of these cases have resulted in arrests.

“I am aware of crimes affecting Asian descent business owners taking place since I was hired more than 30 years ago. They most certainly did not fit this pattern, but they have occurred from time to time,” Winn said in an email. He added the cases police have handled since 2021 “appear to be related and are being investigated as such.”

Among the 25 burglaries reported by Colonie police over the past three years, one in 2021 involved a suspect faking a pizza delivery before committing the crime, similar to cases in the suburbs of Philadelphia and Dallas, where local media outlets last year reported suspects posing as delivery workers to check if the Asian-american victims were home.

The Colonie Police Department warned on social media about Asian business owners being followed home from work. In the Chicago suburb of Gurnee, a Colombian burglary crew was arrested last year after allegedly following Asian business owners home, according to the Lake

& Mchenry County Scanner.

Winn said the social media effort is part of new police Chief James Gerace’s initiative, which also includes sending a community service officer with a tip sheet to all the town’s Asianowned establishments. The department urged on social media for residents to stay vigilant for people potentially following them and to be cautious of unexpected deliveries. It also recommended investing in motion sensors, security cameras and an alarm system.

The FBI field office in Newark said Asian business owners are partly targeted due to a stereotype of keeping high-value items in their homes. A social media statement by Gerace pointed to suspects “counting on the Asian Community to be reluctant to report suspicious or criminal activity to the police.” In an interview, Winn acknowledged that police in Colonie are wary about similar crimes going unreported by Asian residents.

“We do know, from our interactions, that the Asian American community has been leery of the police in the past,” Winn told the Times Union. “We’re trying to dispel that. We are working actively with them.”

Wei Qin, president of the Chinese Community Center, called the burglary trend unfortunate. In a statement, she urged the Asian business community to report any suspicious activity to the police and follow their advice.

“This collective knowledge will help keep everyone safe. Businesses should try to reduce cash transactions and install security systems; I believe this will help deter the activity as well,” Qin said. “The Asian community in this region is strong. We appreciate the Colonie Police Department’s attention to help keep everyone safe.”