My Two Cents

I've purchased two homes in Kenwood over the last couple of months,one of them I plan to move into within the next six weeks. I have bought very bright outside lights for both the front and back of my home along with security doors with great locks. Why did I do this? As a newcomer to Florida and watching the crime stats in this area....frankly, I don't really hold much trust in anyone I don't know.
Lately, I've been driving around the neighborhood at night and notice that many, many homes have their doors and windows wide open (curtains or blinds wide open too). I definitely don't feel that anyone is ''asking'' to be robbed or raped but there really are some common sense things we can do to discourage against others having a full view of our private lives and valuables. I think that this would hold true in Kenwood as well as any other neighborhood in the city.
If I see anything that looks out of the ordinary once I move into Kenwood, I absolutely will not hesitate to call the proper authorities. Security starts at home...and thats my two cents.

Agree!

I agree. Too many people leave everything wide open. It's an invitation for any would-be thieves to take an inventory and check out the floor plan of your home when you leave blinds and curtains open with the lights on inside at night. There might as well be a sign ''Come and get it!'' When you see can see in so clearly at night, don't you look in, too? It's hard not to.
Use common sense. Lock your doors, and if you are in the back of your house or outside, don't leave your front windows open, either. Leave others open. The weather is beautiful and the a/c is off and the breezes are flowing through the house. But use common sense. You can also use those little tabs that keep your window from opening all the way - put them so that a persons head cannot fit through it - then you can leave your window open, while you are at home. Of course, having a dog or two who hears everything and lets you know, helps!

BUT. . .

It's been my experience, and others too, that sometimes when you see suspicious things, you call and get no results. A case in point:
A man was seen in the alley searching through the trash, just looking in bags at papers, etc. at 4:00 a.m. He had no cart or anything. The dogs were going berzerk, but he didn't care. (Then people get mad at the dogs for doing their job-go figure). Anyway, when the police were called, they wanted to know if he was trying to break in or anything. Because he wasn't, they would not send anyone to check him out.
My question is: If he were collecting cans, where was his cart? Why was he looking at paper? Friends of ours a couple of years ago had bogus charges on their charge cards because someone found their thrown away receipts. Fortunately, the packages were intercepted by my friends before the thief could pick up his order. They had over $800 of merchandise charged to their cards. So I would hope that the police would check out ANY suspicious activity. Isn't that what ''Neighborhood Watch'' is supposed to be all about? We're told to call, but then when we do, it's not important enough to investigate.
Anyway, get a shredder. It's worth it!
By the way - I have noticed an increase in the number of boys/men on bikes - same ones - going up and down the street many, many times. I doubt if they are all just engaging in recreational bike riding! They aren't in school during school hours, they aren't at a job and they apparently aren't home much either. Must be nice to be weathly enough to spend all your time just biking through neighborhoods! LOL


By pam

Windows Open?

Hey Pam and Diane,

I don't want to get on a soap box, but since when are curtains open and being able to see into a house cause for robbery? My curtains/drapes are open all the time, some of my windows don't even have curtains. I have never heard from anybody(until today) that this was a cause to be robbed. What could they(the robbers) possibly see that they would want to steal? Couch, chairs,dining room tables.....I don't get it.....Unless you have a very expensive TV/Stero system,or your Grandmothers silver that you happen to leave out so that they could see it from the street, what would they want? I don't mean to sound arbitrary but I have lived like this for over 40 years and have never had a problem. The opposite is strange(to me) I always wonder who lives in those houses where the curtains are drawn tight and what are they hiding? Maybe the burglars wonder that too........
JMHO

Kathy


By Kathy Young