Scott and I did some errands last night (I went out to get new glasses, he needed a haircut) and we got in around 8:30 or so. I noticed that one of the neighbors kids had left his light on inside his car, so I went over there to let them know. (Nothing like a dead battery to ruin your morning!) When I went over there she thanked me and then asked me to come in and she called for her husband to come into the foyer. She then let me know that they had been the victims of two different thefts in the last few weeks. The first was their old lawn mower. She said that it had needed some repairs and that both her and her husband had just assumed that the other one had taken it to the shop. Then their van had the console ripped out and the CD player stolen. I mentioned that a couple months ago we had an old bike parked behind the stoop to our side door and that it had been stolen (we didn’t lock it up or anything, but still). It wasn’t a huge loss by any means, but it certainly freaked us out because someone really would have had to be looking or snooping around, since it wasn’t really visible from the street. We’ve both seen a group of teenage boys wandering around and sort of looking for trouble.I just know the look. Walking really slow, sort of scanning houses as they walk by…they aren’t just out for some fresh air and exercise. We’re thinking it’s them, but you never know. If it is them, school is starting up soon, so maybe the problem will take care of itself. Then again, maybe not.
Another thing that bothers me is that our neighbors kids are 16 and 17, and pretty popular. They always have friends over and whatnot, so they seem to know a lot of people. Shirley (our neighbor) mentioned that one day the group of kids walked by and she asked her kids if they knew them and they had no idea who they were. That means that they aren’t from our neighborhood, so they could possibly have nefarious purposes, trolling around like they are.
Our house is pretty secure, but I can’t help but be a little freaked out. Sometimes I’m not so vigilant about things like putting the security stick in the sliding glass door or locking my car, but you better believe I will be from now on.
ETA: I called a cops a little while ago and they will come patrol a little more often. Let’s hope that solves the prob.
That sucks! We have a huge homeless population here because Kalamazoo used to be the home of one of the largest mental hospitals in the state and then most of the patients were released without means or places to go in the 80s. It makes me nervous, especially when my country boy does things like leave the door unlocked overnight. I hate being nervous in my own home.
Could you and your neighbors file a report with the police and ask for some random ride-bys by the local patrol cars? Our local police used to do ride-bys for people on vacation, etc, but it would depend on the size of the department and what else they have to do. It might scare the thugs off to see the police coming by with some regularity.
I’ve actually thought about calling the cops, just to request a little extra patrol action in my neighborhood. I’m sure they’d welcome the opportunity, given that most of the time people don’t want to see them around.
I was visiting my 2nd cousin yesterday afternoon (she lives in Covey Chase near Tuscaloosa Academy), and she said their neighbors had some stuff stolen Tuesday night. Her husband and a friend were outside talking, and apparently the thieves overheard them and that scared them off before they could get very much stuff. The neighbor’s husband was out of town, so the lady was there by herself. I can’t believe the boldness of people to come onto your property like that while you’re at home! If someone is that brazen, there is no telling what they would do to you.
My recommendation is the Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun, $137.99 every day at Academy Sports & Outdoors. There’s nothing quite like the sound of a shotshell being racked into the chamber to make a crook wet himself and take off running.
-D.
While I can’t really afford the shotgun at the present, it would be really funny to rig up some sensor that plays the sound of a shotgun going off whenever someone walks by. LOL.