Hello Neighbors.
As many of you know, we have been experiencing an uptake of home break-ins and thefts in our neighborhood the past few weeks. Homes on Yorkdale Ct, Stanford Dr. and Oxford Dr. have been burglarized, or in one case had property from under a car port stolen.
The police have been called in all cases and followed up. We have no other information at this time but will get that out when we do. It cannot be determined if this is the same or different individual(s).
What we can do:
Stay vigilant. Statistics show that criminals tend to target an area several blocks in size so if one home is broken into, that same home could be targeted again, or another home in the area may be.
If you see anything or anyone that looks suspicious or does not feel right, call 911. The police have said repeatedly said they prefer to come check it out.
And do not forget to alert your crime watch block captain ASAP so we can get the word out to the neighborhood.
As budget allows, do what you can to protect your home and make it as difficult as possible for a criminal to break into. This may include:
- Install a 6 foot privacy fence around your back yard with locked gated entrance.
- Install a monitored home security system and use it, making sure when you leave, if only for an errand or walking the dog the house is locked and the alarm is on. Some home owners turn the system on when going to bed at night.
- Install motion detector lights over the doors, garage, driveway.
- Install exterior and interior video cameras. Some alarm companies offer this package.
- Record serial numbers of all electronics and mark them in the event that they are stolen for ease of tracing them.
- During the day, if you have large window(s) in the front or the sides of your house, keep shear drapes (that let light in) fully closed and/or blinds pulled at an angle that prevents someone outside from seeing the interior of the home. If at night, fully close window blinds and full outer drapes (if you have them) for the same reason.
- If you have a garage with windows, buy affordable self sticking window covers (Lots of designs to choose from) so the interior of the garage cannot be observed. Many of us have entries into our homes via the garage so this is very important.
- Do not leave your garage door open when you are home or when you are working in another part of the yard and not in the garage. Again, aside from criminals stealing any belongings kept in the garage (or breaking into a parked vehicle), many of us have garages with entry into our homes.
- Get to know your neighbors next door, across the street and behind you.
- Notify close neighbors and your block captain if you are going to be out of town.
- When traveling make arrangements to have your mail/newspaper delivery interrupted or have a neighbor pick them up daily to give the impression you are home.
- Delay ordering UPS or large packages that may be delivered to your home when you are out of town. We have also had reports of delivered packages stolen. Or again divert the package to a family or close neighbor, or lastly notify a close neighbor or family to be on the lookout for the package and keep it safe until your return.
- Reinforce porch screens/windows and entry doors to your home.
- And this list can go on. These are some key actions. Many of you can think of many more. Please feel free to comment on this post if you have ideas.
Be safe, be vigilant. Your neighborhood watch team.