[RP TownTalk] car break-in

[Sarah Wayland]

This is an important point, Heather. Let me provide some explanation &
clarification, in the interest of starting a dialog.

I used to think exactly what you wrote. Many years ago (wow, I think it's
actually been almost 20 years now) crime was worse in our town, and a group
of us started up a Neighborhood Watch program. (our current mayor, then a
new resident of town, was actually one of those primarily responsible for
setting it up!) As part of our training, we spent several hours getting
trained by the police who told us when to call and what to call about. This
was before cell phones were in common use, so we carried police scanners
with us as we walked through the neighborhoods.

I was stunned to learn during the training that the police *wanted* us to
call, even about little things. I had thought this would be annoying to
them, and that they didn't want to hear about random annoying little
things. It turns out that what seems "a little off but not harmless" can
often be the information that helps to the police solve a crime. The rule
the police gave us was, "If it looks weird, give us a call."

I learned that things like "cars parked on our side street that aren't
usually there" might be a drug deal. I had no idea! Now that I know what to
look for, I'm sorry to say I can spot a drug deal pretty easily now. They
happen *fast*, as do most crimes.

Of course the problem with this is that it's a slippery slope. A neighbor
of ours was watching his friend's car while his friend was away on travel.
Another neighbor called the police about the "strange car parked on the
side street", and our neighbor's friend's car got towed without even a
notice! That's exactly the kind of thing we don't want!

In the 20 years since we started that Neighborhood Watch program, my car
has been broken into twice, and my garage has also been broken into. It was
never horrible, just a slight violation. The time my garage was broken
into, a neighbor's shed was broken into just prior, and another neighbor
called me because she was very shaken up, having just witnessed the shed
break-in. Little did I know that while I was talking to her on the phone,
my garage was being broken into!

That string of shed break-ins, by the way, was solved when a resident
called the police when he saw a guy jumping over a fence. The police caught
the guy in the act of stealing stuff from another shed because they had a
lead from someone in the community who called right away.

Of course these folks usually commit their crimes when no one is looking,
and they operate quickly. It's hard to even know whether you are seeing
something weird, and I can personally attest to the fact that sometimes you
don't even realize how weird it is until hours later.

To be clear, what I don't mean by "weird" is "someone who looks different
than me and my neighbors".

But what *is* weird? This write up on the City of Lonsdale (MN) is quite
consistent with what the police told us during our Neighborhood Watch
training:

http://www.lonsdale.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B8E39A899-29E8-4B18-AF14-ED1081ACCC6B%7D

I keep thinking about another neighbor whose home was broken into while I
was home. I heard a loud bang, but because of the noise of a nearby
construction site, thought it was nothing unusual. I didn't call the
police. My neighbors lost many things that were not only of monetary value,
but also of great sentimental value. I still feel really really bad about
that. I should have called.

-Sarah
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