Criminals, love those of us that don’t pay attention to our surroundings while out shopping. People preoccupied with a smartphone, as they walk to or from their vehicle. They look for the inattentive person that they can get to without being seen. Then they snatch whatever you may have, or worse, enter your vehicle as you do. As you park, take a moment to look around before getting out. Criminals will notice you being alert, and are less likely to choose you, as a target.

As you come and go at home, make sure you look around, to notice anything that is out of the ordinary. A person walking or standing nearby that you don’t know. Or vehicles, driving slowly, that are unusual for your neighborhood. A person that appears alert and aware of their surroundings, is a less desirable target. We hope you stay safe and healthy as the New Year ends for all of us. Here are a couple of things that happened in the last week, in my neighborhood.

The Lone Rider

With the attitude towards police these days, criminals are feeling emboldened. In our capital city, located 20 miles south of us, they have nearly the same crime rate as Chicago. One of its denizens apparently came to case out the neighborhood just before Christmas.

I was in the office here around midnight, just finishing an old black and white western. I noticed out the window a vehicle coming “very” slowly down the street. It stopped and after a few moments, it moved on down to the place directly across from us. It backed into that driveway, and slowly went back the way it had come. Then stopped just beyond our fence, and next to an empty lot.

It sat there about 5 mins, then turned off its lights. I saw someone get out of the car, wearing a hoodie, and they walked back down past our house on foot. Then they crossed the street that our street dead ends at, and stood on the side of the road, near the bushy area next to the pond. Then they walked back to the vehicle, turned around and drove to our intersection. They turned left towards the main road, sat a few moments, then went out into the main road and did a U-turn slowly. They then drove slowly past our house out front.

I had called the police and gave them a description of the vehicle and the hoodie, I couldn’t tell if they were black or white. The police were there very quickly. Two units turned onto our street, just as the car, which had circled our area, was returning. They stopped him up the street, just out of sight. The vehicle was registered to someone from the capital city, Montgomery.

I have no doubt, that he was casing the houses. The place, right across the street, sits in total darkness, as does the old place next to us, where an elderly man lives alone. We have a bright streetlight that we lease from the power company that shines on our property really well.

Random yard work?

A knock on the door around noon, would see a black male standing there. Wearing a backpack and a beanie type wool cap, a bicycle parked not far from him in our yard. He started giving a story that he lives in a house way down the road, he had 5 brothers, they live with him in the house he owns. Yea, right. He continued on how he just kicked out 3 of them, because they don’t work and pay their share. His sister and mother just died from covid. He was $22 short of keeping his lights on. That was the jest of the conversation.

Meanwhile, Max is just behind my leg looking at the guy, with every hair standing up on his back. Dogs, can sense bad people. The guy, said he was looking for yard work. My first thought, this is the end of December, there hasn’t been any grass that needed mowing in over two months. 

I told him, that we were so broke, I couldn’t “pay attention”. Wish I could help, but things are tight. So he left on his bicycle and headed down the road, to his next attempt. 

They just seem to come out of the woodwork with pitiful stories around this time of year. His Nike Airs, and the pristine looking bike, didn’t help his story, either.

So, be careful, keep your eyes open, and be aware of unusual things around you. People coming to your door, if they are up to no good, will notice things behind you, and your demeanor, to size up whether there may be things worth risking a break in, or forced entry.

Stay safe and healthy. Comments always welcome.