NEW Area Coordinator!

We're sooooo excited to announce our new Area 5 Coordinator!

Jamie Duncan

She was just barely thrown in to the sharks with us, so she's a little overwhelmed I'm sure. But we're so happy to have her. And congrats to Area 5 for scoring such a great Coordinator. She'll be awesome.

On that same note, we're getting the Foxboro Apartments up and running with Neighborhood Watch as well. An Area Coordinator hasn't been decided upon yet.

Plan on attending the Big Foxboro Neighborhood Watch Meeting in April (details TBA, check back with us later) to meet Jamie, as well as other Area Coordinators and Block Captains, participate in our Open Forum, get up-to-date prevention tips from local police, and much more!

See you soon!

Break-in Prevention Tip

Read the following e-mail received from a local Foxboro neighbor on a prevention tip:
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"In addition to the padlocks in our old neighborhood we were told to buy individual door alarms. You can buy them in a pack of 4 for around $10. We found them at Ross, but Khols, Target, etc should carry them too. They just attach to the top of your door frame and when opened an alarm starts blaring. We bought them to actually alert us to when our children were escaping. :)Sometimes we couldn't hear from our bedroom door to the backdoor and these came in super handy. They have 3 settings on them 1 being the constant loud alarm, the 2nd one beeps for 30 seconds and the 3rd is the silent position. They are these tiny plastic suckers but they sure can be loud and scary and I'm sure would they have an intruder running from the area pretty fast thinking that it was a real house alarm.

They worked really well for the purpose we used them for and I'm sure it would work great as an extra precaution along with the stick in the door. etc. They can also be bought and used specifically for windows. Just a thought."

Attempted Break-in {Area 5}

An e-mail from an Area 5 neighbor:

"Our next door neighbor, 324 Birmingham, heard some noise coming from his kitchen early (6 AM-ish) this past Saturday morning. He went down, with a baseball bat, to investigate and saw a person with a ski-mask who had just opened his LOCKED sliding glass door from the outside. The person saw Russ and his baseball bat and took off. Russ called the police who came and searched pretty much every backyard in the North town-homes but didn't find anything. Russ and his family are fine, and the guy didn't break anything or get in the house to take anything. The police did say that 90% of the gates (ours included) were not padlocked, and they recommended that we all get padlocks. My first thought was if someone wants to get into a house, I don't think a fence or padlock is going to stop them. But, my husband pointed out that if they are trying to take something, say a computer or TV or anything really, they are going to have a harder time getting it over a fence than if they just took it through an unlocked gate.
You may want to remind people in our community via the blog to padlock their fence if they haven't already done so. We also put a big wooden stick in our sliding glass door to add one more obstacle."

Gang Fight at Park

Below is an email I received from a fellow Neighborhood Watcher, who received their information from a relative in nearby Foxboro area (FB2). Please read and be aware. Pass on to others. Sharing things that we witness and see is exactly what Neighborhood Watch is about. It's so important to be informed and aware. Keep it up guys!

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This is from my brother in law that lives on York. I thought it would be some good information for our next meeting. I copied below what he said.

"...did you hear that there was a "gang fight" in the park behind our house last Friday? I guess it was during the day and the guy that lives behind us that is a SLC police officer heard some commotion (as did the FBI agent on the other side of the street) and they went over to see what was going on. There were about 20 kids beating up 2 kids. They all took off but the one kid that got beat up tried to hide in his neighbor's yard.

From what they found out, there is a house on the next street over with 3 families living there. Since it is right by the park, the park has become a hang out for some gang activity

I just thought you might want to know since you are involved in the Neighborhood watch."
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Please feel free to email me or your Block Captain with things you feel should be shared with your neighbors as well.

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.