Area One Meeting

R E M I N D E R

What: Area One Neighborhood Watch Meeting
When: Thursday, Feb 26th, 2009
Time: 7:30-8:30pm
Where: 1044 Boston Court

Active Patrol Reminder

For those unaware, we are currently doing active patrols within Foxboro. Please volunteer to help. Contact your Area Coordinator for more information and to sign-up.

If this will be your first time doing an active patrol, please download our Active Patrol Guideline sheet for patrolling information. Remember that Area One and Area Four are COMBINED, so if you're from one of these areas please make sure to cover BOTH when patrolling.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Active Patrol, please contact your Block Captain or Area Coordinator.

Thanks for all your support and volunteer efforts. We appreciate all of our helpers!

We Need You: Volunteer.

Join Neighborhood Watch and help our "Crime-Free-Foxboro" efforts! Your neighbors need you!

Why should I join Neighborhood Watch?
By joining you are,

• helping to keep your very own neighborhood safe and crime-free
• kept updated on any criminal activity that may be happening in your neighborhood
• given up-to-date crime prevention tips from local police
• part of a support group of people who are working toward a common goal: a cleaner, friendlier, and safer place to live.

So the question is: why shouldn't you join? ;)

How much of my time will Neighborhood Watch demand?
As much time as you allow. Area meetings are held occasionally (depends on your area, approximately every 4-7 weeks) which all Neighborhood Watch citizens are encouraged to attend. Also, there are Active Patrol needs within your area which require Neighborhood Watch citizens to sign-up for patrols.

If you wish to be a Block Captain, a couple more obligations are required, but not much.

What steps do I need to take in order to join?
Contact your Block Captain or Area Coordinator. Contact information is located on the right-side of this blog.

Attempted Break-In!

I was just told about an attempted break-in in Area One, on Alford Court.
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This Alford Court couple was home with their porch lights on, and the like, when they heard a loud, abrasive, pounding on their front door. Their dog started to bark and must have scared the perpetrator. The couple went to their front window to look out but no one was there. Later, a nearby neighbor told them they also heard the loud pounding and then saw a man running down the couple's front steps and away from their home. The neighbors didn't think too much about it as it was only 9:30pm in the evening! So they didn't take action, thinking it was probably someone the couple knew or possibly the couple themselves. However, the couple did call the NSL Police to find out that four other calls had just been placed, within 15 minutes, of that same thing happening in Foxboro.

About 2 months ago this same thing happened, but the perpetrators were successful in kicking down the door! {click here to read more}

Please be alert and aware of these crimes, and let your neighbors and friends of Foxboro know as well. Let's get the Neighborhood Watch program "up and tough" and let these villains know we won't stand for it.

I think it's safe to assume these perpetrators were desperate and probably armed.

Foxboro Town Meeting to be determined...I'll keep everyone posted.

More Graffiti

Email from Area 4 Coordinator:
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Hello Neighbors!

I just wanted to inform you that there was more tagging found yesterday on Fox Hollow Dr near Alford Ct. It was big and yellow, still showing the sign of the gang Surejo (sp?) 13. Please be on the lookout for items like this, and if you're interested in doing active patrol, let me know! Also,we will be having an Area 4 meeting on Thursday, February 19th at 7:30 pm at Yogi Berry.

More Potential Issues --- PLEASE READ

Please read this email that I received from one of our fellow Neighborhood Watch citizens. It's a great reminder of how one person can make a difference in keeping our neighborhood safe. He did a great job in reporting someone suspicious. Remember: if it doesn't look right and it doesn't feel right....it's probably NOT right.
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Earlier today, around 12:30 PM, I was working in the garage when a white Chevy Astro Van rolled slowly by our house, as I came around the corner, the driver saw me and sped up as he drove in to the new Hallmark subdivision behind us. This seemed suspicious, so I came inside and watched from our back window, as he slowly drove around the neighborhood. He then came back out onto Boston and drove out of sight.

Initially, I wrote this off as a lost contractor looking for a job sight, or a concerned dad just looking for the family dog (ok not really), but about forty-five minutes later, the same van drove slowly by our house a second time. This time, I jumped in my trucked and followed him as he wound through the neighborhoods. We finally ended up in a cul-de-sac in Foxboro North. By this time it was obvious that I had been following him so he pulled over and waited for me to pass. I pulled up next to him, rolled down my window and asked him if he was lost, to which he replied, "no, I am just driving around waiting for a client to come home so I can install a water-softener."

I apologized for the intrusion and waited for him to drive off. As he did, I followed him to our neighbors house and watched him get out of his tuck and knock on the front door. He didn't stay long, and I couldn't here the conversation, but as soon as he left I called my neighbor who, by the way, was home alone and freaked out of her mind. He told her that he was there to install a water-softener and asked if he could come in and look at their system. She told him that she didn't order a water softener and told him to leave.

I continued to watch as the supposed "water-softener installer" went to the next house to see they had ordered the water-softener. Of course, they didn't order the equipment either and he was again turned away. As he got back in his van, he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and drive out of the neighborhood.

By this time I was on the phone with the police, an act which was probably noticed by the individual. The police circled the neighborhood, but he was long gone by the time they arrived.

I truly hope he was indeed a water-softener installation specialist who was just looking for a lost client. Hopefully, I am just paranoid. However, I do believe, as the NSL Officer stated, he didn't belong here.

I am sending this out because we have to much to loose, not just valuables in our garages, documents in glove boxes, or lost property value, but more importantly the safety of our families and our children. He was driving a late 90's white unmarked Chevy Astro Van with temporary plates. He was Hispanic, had a heavy build, wavy hair, and is in his mid to upper 30's.

Criminal Activity in Area 4!

This was e-mailed out to a handful of people and made it's way to me. This person lives in Area 4. Here's the e-mail as I received it:

Just as a reminder, keep all of your garages and doors locked and keep your outside lights on. Last night I came home from work late. Jess is out of town this week and so I am always a little nervous. I had a little brother and sister who were sleeping over at my house. When I pulled up to my driveway I had an eerie feeling that something wasn't right. Something told me to check my outside entry for the garage and my front door. The front door was closed and the face plate on the outside garage entry was down so I thought I was just being paranoid. Everything was fine. 45 minutes later my little brother shouts "Hey Matt is here" (a brother of mine). I knew he wasn't here because he wasn't coming to sleep over. He said he could hear him talking outside. We have my in-laws fourwheeler trailer in our driveway. And we heard the trailer move. I told my brother to look out the window to see if Matt's car was here. Nope BUT there were 4 men in my driveway and another in a dark colored 4 door sedan. They were trying to crack the code to my garage opener. There were also two tan/gold colored camerys that were hanging out by the house next door that is being built. All cars had dark tinted windows. And their license plate lights are out so we couldn't see the numbers. The scary thing is I was home, all the lights were on in the front and in the back yard and in the house. One man was in my backyard. The police told me that everyone knows when my husband is gone because his truck isn't sitting in the driveway. The police knew which house we were just by his work truck. The police said that I need to keep my garage door to the house locked when I am home (which I never do because the garage is down) but had they gotten in the garage they would have walked right into my house. They also said that the economy is getting worse and thieves are hitting "nice", quiet neighborhoods. The police officer said never hesitate to call even on something that looks suspicious, don't wait for it to become a crime or for someone to get hurt. He also asked me if I had let my neighbors know that Jess was going to be out of town and I said no cause he's gone a lot and he said always let your trusted neighbors know when your husband's gone or when you'll be out of town. I hope these tips will help, even if they are just a reminder.

Area 1 Family Info Spread

This post is for Area 1. Here is the spreadsheet as promised. Please fill out accordingly and return to me as soon as you can. Contact me with any questions you may have. But it's pretty self-explanatory.

Thanks guys!

Click here for the Microsoft Excel (xls) version

(to fill in on computer and email)

or
Click here for a the Adobe Reader (pdf) version

(to print out and fill in with pen)

Crime Reports.com

North Salt Lake has joined Crime Reports.com! Visit this link to see recent criminal activity in our area:

http://crimereports.com/

Also, I've added this link to the 'links' section at the bottom of this window on the right side.

8 Easy {and cheap} Ways to Prevent Home Theft

I found this article on MSN.com and thought it appropriate to post on the blog right now. I urge all to read and pass on to others (click on the "envelope" at the bottom of the post to email article to others). Click here to go directly to the original article on msn.com.

1. Sign up: While home security systems are great tools for preventing burglaries, they can be quite expensive. For a more affordable alternative, Houseworth recommends a little trickery: putting a home security sign in your yard without actually obtaining the service. It's an approach Houseworth uses himself — "I'm too cheap," he says. The sign convinces would-be burglars that your home is in fact protected by a security system, which makes them less inclined to target your property. "Just think from a burglar's point of view: 'Am I going to break into the building or the home that has a security system?'" Houseworth says. "'Or am I going to go next door to the one that doesn't?'"


2. Beware of the garage: Garages are a common entry point for burglars, Houseworth says. Open garage doors serve to advertise your belongings to passers-by, which increases the likelihood of theft. So homeowners should make sure their garage door remains closed any time they aren't present. "Take away the attractive appeal to what someone might want to steal," Houseworth says.

3. Be a neighbor: Neighbors can play a key role in preventing home thefts. Homeowners on friendly terms with their neighbors are less likely to be victimized by other members of their community. At the same time, closely knit neighbors are more likely to call the police if they see someone suspicious poking around your property. "If they like you and they care about you and they are concerned about their community, then if they see something unusual going on, then they will check it out or call the police," Houseworth says. So don't be a hermit: Get out and interact with your neighbors.

4. Keep valuables outside the bedroom: A burglar on the hunt for valuables in a home will make the master bedroom his first stop, because that's where the cash and jewelry are most commonly stored. So if you do keep such valuables on your property, find another room to store them in. "I don't keep anything in my bedroom," Houseworth says. "And I don't have much — deliberately — of great value of the small items [that] are the ones burglars like to steal [stored in my home]."

5. No land escaping: Burglars prefer to target homes that have hiding spots and escape routes in the yards, and abundant bushes and trees make for great cover, Houseworth says. As a result, yards with less shrubbery and more open spaces aren't particularly appealing targets. "If the home is open and relatively exposed, a burglar will think, 'I'm going to go in, and if something goes wrong, how am I going to get out of here?'" Houseworth says.


6. Install motion sensors: Light is a great deterrent for nighttime break-ins. Houseworth recommends homeowners install motion sensors on outdoor lights that turn on automatically if someone triggers them. "I have mine hard-wired in, but they have some that are actually screwed in," he says.

7. Radio running: Noise helps prevent burglaries as well. Houseworth leaves his radio on all day so that would-be burglars think that someone is at home. "Your home is more likely to be burglarized during the day because they think that nobody is home," he says.


8. Free police inventory: Homeowners should be sure to remember the basics of home-theft prevention: keeping windows and doors locked at all times. For homeowners looking to go a step further, Houseworth suggests contacting the local police department and having an officer stop by the house for a safety checkup. "I don't know of any police department that if you call them and ask them to do an inventory of your home to help harden it, they won't come out free and give you advice on how to improve your home," Houseworth says.