Neighborhood break-in causes little concern

Thursday provided a bit of unexpected excitement in the neighborhood. I had just stepped away from my home office desk for lunch when I read an email from a neighbor, saying that she had seen suspicious men at another neighbor’s home and had called the police. Looking out the window, I was amazed to see three Raleigh Police cruisers parked down the street!

I found out from other neighbors who were outside that the house at the end of the neighboring street had been broken into. Officers had the house surrounded, believing the perpetrators were still inside. I chatted a bit with my neighbors until a K-9 officer returning his dog to his car let us know that no one was inside.

It seems the perpetrators left out the back door as officers arrived, having had time to stack TVs and an Xbox outside but no time to take them with them. Fortunately for the police, the burglars very thoughtfully left their getaway car sitting in the driveway! I smiled as I watched the car being towed away, knowing how much evidence the burglars must have left in it. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the hapless burglars are caught.

Things went back to normal that day and as usual the neighbors gathered in the street to chat while their children played. Being that there’s no outlet in my neighborhood, we can usually tell which visitors are new to the neighborhood and which aren’t. That afternoon, my neighbors were surprised when two cars made passes in front of the house, obviously looking for the missing getaway car!

I had also seen a taxi make a loop past the house without stopping, which was unusual. A worried-looking young man in the passenger seat told me all I needed to know: these boneheads or their friends were desperate to get their car back!

So why am I blasé about this?

• My neighbors have almost all of their stuff, with only a wallet and a few small items still missing. They have some damage to their back door but will soon have it repaired.
• The perps got away but will soon be caught, but not before word gets out not to mess with our neighborhood!
• My neighbors saw suspicious activity and immediately called the police, who showed up in force with head-dizzying speed.
• The entire neighborhood has contact info for everyone and through the neighborhood email list we all knew what was happening within minutes.
• More than a third of the neighborhood is at home during the day and we keep a close watch on activity.

Even the police at the scene praised my neighborhood, telling my affected neighbor “you are lucky to have such good neighbors.”

My neighbor didn’t have their security system on, didn’t have a security sign out front, and probably hadn’t reinforced their door’s latchplates with longer screws. I’m sure they’ll fix these as soon as possible. In the meantime, we’ll all sleep well knowing our neighborhood takes care of its own!