I live in a safe neighborhood, or so I thought.  It used to be, and now I wonder, is any neighborhood safe anymore?

A neighbor and her friend were mugged at gunpoint at a restaurant 1 mile from our street.

Around the corner, a house was robbed in the middle of the day.  The owner did not set their alarm system when they left.

A house 3 blocks away was robbed.  The burglars rang the bell and when a young woman who worked for the family that owned the house answered the door, they forced their way in, tied her up, and robbed the house.

A child was home alone, told by his mother not to answer the door.  So when the doorbell rang, he ignored it.  Moments later, there were two men walking through the backyard and breaking a window to get in.  The boy called his mother on her cell.  Out for a jog, she called 911 as she ran home.  She and the police arrived at the same time, just in time to catch the bad guys running away.  The next day, construction began on a gate around their front yard.

Our local little league baseball park had to spend fundraiser money to hire security guards because cars in the parking lot kept getting broken into.

Did you know that 60% of residential burglaries occur during daylight hours?*
Every 14.6 seconds a burglary takes place.*

Do you notice strange cars on your street or in your neighbors’ driveways?  Do you call them to talk about it?  Do you even talk to your neighbors?  We need to get to know one another again.  We need to look out for one another, for our community, for our street.

What are some things you can do?
•Get a dog
•Install an alarm system.  And turn it on when you leave.
•Lock your doors and windows
•Leave outdoor lights on
•Set indoor lamps with timers.
•Let your neighbors know when you will be out of town and what, if any, activity to expect at your house.
•Post Neighborhood watch signs.

For more information, visit the National Neighboorhood Watch Institute website:
http://www.nnwi.org/

*Statistics from Every Monday Matters, by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza