Burglaries up ~300% in our neighborhood

[kmac30]

WhoseHouse - no. i used to get emails from WANG, but i think i might have removed my email address from them.

there's a lady in our area that is all about emails. anytime something happens i get an email. i've told her about somethings and she passes it on. where are you exactly? pm me and we can discuss more. i'll give you her email and you can get on her list.

 

[RayDog]

I always leave a car in the driveway, usually two. Most of my neighbors have been hit through the years, and many suspect my cars is the reason I haven't.

Of course it could be that they are POS, not just that it looks like someone is home.

 

[accuratehorn]

This happens in our neighborhood for awhile, then dies down, then a couple of year's later, starts up again. It is usually one person or one two targeting the area. They rob a few places, then get caught or move on. We suspected some homeless guys living in the woods near our area.
There are police department sites which list all the crimes in different areas. You can find all kinds of info on there, but I advise against it, too scary.
Dogs-ha. Some might deter crime. Some burglars deal with the dogs. They broke in my house, put the outside cat food bowl down in the house for my dog, and stole our stuff while the dog chowed down on tasty tuna kibbles. Lot of help he was.
Get an alarm, put up alarm signs and stickers on windows. Put longer screws throught the hinges and lock plates on the doors, motion detectors, check. Car in driveway is a good idea.
Form a neighborhood watch group, or at least talk to your immediate negihbors, meet them and agree to watch out for each other, look for strange cars in the driveway and such.

 

[14tokihorn]

We're down here very close to the Hula Hut. this weekend, several of us gardening-type neighbors gaggled together.
One rumor, but a reliable source, sais that a truck pulled up, several houses down, and loaded up with (at least, AFAIK) the TV.
Right across the street, the garage area was rifled for the power tools.
These events in 1 week.... Anything to pawn, I guess.

 

[Bob Wills]

I'm out in Westlake, down Cuernavaca and my theory is that the construction workers that have been working in the area might have been the source of a string of break-ins during January/February. I even saw one of the guys driving in his truck with a buddy one early Sunday and I know for a fact they're only there M-F. Coincidence, maybe, but when he noticed that I was looking at his plates he didn't exactly slow down to wave hello.

 

[J.R.69]

I live in a nice subdivision in Clear lake City--have lived here for 30+ years and never been burglarized.....until last year. I had a routine dental appointment at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday morning. The dentist's office was about 5 minutes away and I was back in an hour.

In that hour, my kitchen window was kicked in and a couple of bozos--criminal residue from Katrina who refused to move back to New Orleans--ransacked my house to the tune of $3,500+, including a brand-new high-def TV. They were coming back for a second load when a pet-sitter pulled in next door and saw them. Police caught them a couple of weeks later doing the same thing in a neighboring subdivision (that's how I know they were Katrina trash).

It was a terrible feeling, knowing that strangers had crashed into my house, stealing anything they wanted and tracking broken glass through my house. The feeling of "violation" you hear so much about is absolutely real. And scary.

Had it been a week or so earlier, my visiting mother, who was 94 years old, would have been there, and probably been killed or seriously injured.

I had motion-sensor floodlights installed in front and on the side of my house, and keep back deck/patio light on continuously. Also got Brinks burglar alarm system installed, with two outside signs on stakes driven into the ground, and stickers displayed everywhere.

No problems since.