Cactus Village Community

3-2-3 Keep Me Crime Free

Jul 10, 2003

Recently, there have been burglaries in our neighborhood. The burglars have not been selective with times. They have robbed our neighbors during the day as well as the evening. Everyone hopes that they do not become a victim but is hope really enough?

Please take a few moments and ask yourself a few qualifying questions to see if you are a high risk victim.

1. Do you know names and phone numbers of the 3 houses directly behind you?
2. Do you know names and phone numbers of the 3 houses directly in front of you?
3. Do you know names and phone numbers of the homes on each side of yours?

If any of the answers to these questions is no then you are a high risk to burglary. Sure there are many deterrents to being burglarized. You can live in your own prison and put bars up. You can pay a monthly fee for an alarm (not a bad idea!) You can make sure your attic isn?’t accessible to the street. There are many things you can do. Do you think you can rely on a response time from your burglar alarm to the police station and then to you? Do you think you can rely on the police patrolling our neighborhoods? I would like to believe yes but unfortunately they usually can?’t. Your highest percentage of protection is going to come from your neighbors. Those people that live behind, beside, and in front of you. These people in the course of any given day are active on all sides of your home. Think about it, if you knew who lived around you and you saw something suspicious or even had the slightest feeling of suspicion wouldn?’t it be easy to pick up the phone and let your neighbor know? If they were not home then maybe the next call should be 911 and let them check it out. After all, our homes are what we work for and where we keep our most personal belongings.

I hope you will take 1/2 hour out of your day to exchange information with all of your 3-2-3 neighbors and let them know that you wouldn?’t mind being a set of eyes for them and ask if they wouldn?’t mind doing the same. By taking the time to do this you will have eight more chances on staying crime free in your home. If you shrug this off and say that you know the people around you and you think that will get you by don?’t be surprised if you become a victim. Not only will you suffer but also the people around you suffer because of your lack of participation (being neighborly).

Take a few minutes, it really works!. . . ☺