Our once “no crime ever happens here” neighborhood has had a crime spree just within the last 2 months. 2 houses had break-ins late in the night/early morning hours where the burglars entered through the outside garage door and then into the house- in one case while the people were upstairs asleep! Very spooky, indeed and I don’t want to blame the victims here but what are people doing leaving there doors unlocked in the first place? Then, 4 cars had break-ins parked on the street. The neighbors (around 67 houses in our sub-development) thankfully have gotten pretty serious about this and have formed a militia. Well, not really but a neighborhood watch with people taking turns patrolling the streets at night between 12-midnight and 5am, with flashlights and dogs (I hope rottweilers, pit bulls, and eye-pecking hawks!).
Now send in the clowns. ADT Home Security use to send there salesmen-in-training into our neighborhood trying to sell their over-priced monitoring systems and contracts years ago. They stopped when nobody bought into it and were never heard from again. They’re back! And this time with tall-tales of rapes, gunpoint robberies, and burglars burning homes down with children trapped inside with police/firemen nowhere to be found. BUT they’ll protect you, just buy a system starting at $500, and their “special pricing” home monitoring (because they care!) 5-year (auto-renewing) contract at only $40.99. But because they like us (must be the hair?), they’ll drop it to $29.99/month. Are you kidding?! I swear, I’m not a conspiracy guy, but I think they might be causing the crime here trying to sell systems. That, or they go phishing around the police reports using crime and fear as a selling leverage.
As for me, I’m not buying into it, and talking with a few of the neighbors, it seems like the rest aren’t either – for now. We’re leaving our outside lights on and keeping our dog outside at night. I’m even thinking of putting shaving cream around his mouth and buying him a spiked collar too! That should do the trick.
And tonight the neighborhood has a meeting at City Hall with the Sheriff’s on neighborhood watch training- I wonder if ADT will be standing outside the windows or hanging out in the parking lot like car salesmen, salivating with there eyes glowing red.