[KEVIN & JOSIE]

Would love to see stats on gated communities versus non gated. Are the break ins occuring in gated communities in Sumter, Lake, and Marion counties?

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by KEVIN & JOSIE

Would love to see stats on gated communities versus non gated. Are the break ins occuring in gated communities in Sumter, Lake, and Marion counties?

I assume you are not referring to TV as a gated community....because it most certainly is not.

However, I can tell you that living in a true gated community the incidence of break ins/robberies/thefts was zero in those communities we lived in.

[KEVIN & JOSIE]

Originally Posted by billethkid

I assume you are not referring to TV as a gated community....because it most certainly is not.

However, I can tell you that living in a true gated community the incidence of break ins/robberies/thefts was zero in those communities we lived in.

Thanks. I've never lived in a gated community. Often wondered if they were as secure as they looked. You've answered my question.

[Trish Crocker]

A couple of months ago my daughter and her baby were here. He woke up around 2am and was fussing. I was walking him around the house and decided to step out the front door with him for some fresh air. Just as I did, a police officer was walking toward me. I asked him what was up and he told me that he wanted to let me know that my garage door was open. After thanking him for letting me know he pointed down the street to a white van that was backed into my neighbors drive and asked me if I had seen it there before..I had, it was my neighbors. It was a comforting feeling to know that someone was watching out for us.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by billethkid

I assume you are not referring to TV as a gated community....because it most certainly is not.

However, I can tell you that living in a true gated community the incidence of break ins/robberies/thefts was zero in those communities we lived in.

Billethkid -- I can tell you if your previous gated community never had a robbery, etc.,
you were probably among the less than 1%.
What you are citing is as rare as a spotted tiger in any
community or neighborhood -- gated or not.

As a Realtor of 30 years and having dealt with gated communities in the Boca Raton area, (many of which were expensive homes),
some sort of robbery, break-in, etc., was not uncommon at all.
This is commonplace in gated communities because it is assumed there are better things to steal -- more valuable things and more of it.

Most of these things happened during daylight hours when many service people are coming and going.

[dotti105]

We all do need to be aware of our surroundings. It can't be stressed enough. Check out the vehicles in your neighbors drives. Check out the vehicles parked on the streets. If something feels wrong, please take out your cell phone and take a photo of the vehicle and license plate. Quick and easy. You might have just obtained info which the authorities could use to locate the low life planning his next inside job.

Something, I do hate to mention. This could be residents. Hard to swallow. But with 100,000+/- residents, we must recognize that there are some who are not outstanding citizens. Just be cautious and try to recall conversations you had with neighbors about going out at certain times . I don't mean to simply mistrust your neighbors. But just to be cautious and smart.

And snap that license plate. So simple and could turn out to be the break needed in solving the next crime.

[JB in TV]

We lived in a "gated community" before moving to TV. It had a gate that required an entry code or remote control to open the gate. What a joke. Might as well have been an open gate all the time. Residents and real estate agents (who should have known better!) gave codes out to many people, so after a few months, anyone could get in. And did. We didn't choose that community because of the gate, in fact, the gate was listed on our negative side of the decision list. Some people think it gives them more security, but it is quite the opposite. Besides giving out that "maybe we have more to protect" signal to outsiders...all it did was require the homeowners to maintain the streets. Once you make it "gated" the municipality no longer provides that maintenance.

A gate with a security guard controlling the entry is probably the best way to keep unwanted folks out of a community, but it is far from perfect as well.

As Dotti said...It boils down to everyone being aware of what goes on in their neighborhood, and not taking steps to aid the criminals. Be smart...