Thieves stole decorations from several homes on Alameda's over the weekend — taking, according to residents of the street, the lights from several houses as well as a decorative Snoopy.
"We've only had one report from 3200 Thompson," said the Alameda Police Department's Lt. Sean Lynch. "But that doesn't mean there haven't been more decorations taken."
Many people, says Lynch, do not report thefts of small items, figuring it's not worth the effort or bother.
"But anytime there is a theft we encourage people to call the police even if it seems like a nuisance," said Lt. Lynch. "It helps us trend and track crimes."
Christmas decorations were also reported stolen over the weekend from the 1000 block of Broadway and the 1800 block of Clinton, said Lynch. The department has has no way of knowing if the thefts were a result of one person or several.
"Anyone can go by and take decorations," said Lynch. "It takes like three seconds."
On Thompson, which has a decades-long tradition of creating a wonderland of holiday fun as well as organizing fathers on the block to serve as Santa and their children as elves, morale is just fine.
"It's more of an annoyance than anything," said Nelson Layag, a Thompson Avenue resident. "But everyone is offering neighbors extra lights, since people have spares."
"And we're thinking about posting something on our Facebook page," said Layag, "about how Santa knows when you've been naughty and when you've been nice."
Santa's is .
