FLORENCE — After Allison Stanfield’s house was burglarized and her son’s bicycle was later stolen, she started hearing of other neighbors who were victims of burglaries.

“Our neighbors started talking, and we decided we need to know what we could do about it,” Stanfield said. “As citizens, we want to know how can we help fight this.”

She called Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler. Today, he and other members of the Police Department will meet with residents and business owners in north Florence to discuss the problem. The community meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Florence Baptist Church on North Wood Avenue.

“We hope we can ease some concerns of (north Florence residents),” Tyler said. “We want to provide them some information and some tips on what they can do to make their homes more secure.”

According to department statistics, detectives have 23 active residential burglary cases from north Florence since Nov. 1. Those burglaries have occurred throughout the area and are not concentrated on two or three streets.

Tyler said most of the reported burglaries are occurring during the day when many people are at work.

“We want to encourage people to be good neighbors and to watch out for their neighbors,” the chief said. “If they see someone out on foot or in cars that seem suspicious and don’t belong in the neighborhood, call us.”

Tyler said residents also can go to the department’s website and use the link to crimereports.com to see what areas have been burglarized. They also can leave tips for the department.

Tyler said people should make sure they secure their homes.

“Use dead-bolt locks and other security devices,” he said. “Do whatever is necessary to make your home more secure.”

Stanfield said north Florence is a great place to live, and the organizers of tonight’s meeting hope several residents and business owners will attend.

“We want as many people as possible to come out and learn more about what they can do to combat these burglaries,” she said. “We need everyone’s help.”

Tom Smith can be reached at 256-740-5757 or tom.smith@Times Daily.com.