Here is a link to a story about a bunch of burglaries in 2009


Burglars In The Villages May Be Using Golf Carts | www.wftv.com


And see the article in my post above about the guy arrested in Brownwood on Monday.


I have to think law enforcement is really on this.


But WHY isn't anything mentioned in the Sun or in Meta Mintons on line news about the break ins south of 466A??????

[QUOTE=graciegirl;802311]Here is a link to a story about a bunch of burglaries in 2009


Burglars In The Villages May Be Using Golf Carts | www.wftv.com


And see the article in my post above about the guy arrested in Brownwood yesterday.


I have to think law enforcement is really on this.


But WHY isn't anything mentioned in the Sun or in Meta Mintons on line news about the break ins south of 466A??????[/QUOTE


Does it matter? Neighbors are telling us what they know...surely they aren't lying..what would be the point? I'm not gonna wait to read it there before I take steps in my area.

As for a solution, I'm gonna start with window decals for us and our neighbors that say "Neighborhood watch...you are being watched and any suspicious activity will be reported to the local police" (or something like that) If a whole neighborhood has it, they might believe it to be true. They can be found cheaply enough online and the more you get, the cheaper they are. I'm gonna try to get something more structured going, but we'll start with the decals. Can't imagine anyone will say no to that.

I would think a home alarm system would be a lot more effective than a decal but no one would object to a decal in your window.

As for a neighborhood watch program, get the sheriff's office to tell you what can and cannot be done. The Villages does not want to be the next Sanford.

Yes...good idea! I'll start there. And, of course, an alarm would be better. But sometimes the simplest answers work, too. These don't sound like accomplished thieves, resorting to kicking in doors and the like. Maybe we'll get the actual home alarm signs. They can just be bought too. A small deterrent is better than none.

[quote=Lovey2;802326]Not everyone is on TOTV or have neighbors discussing this - so the newspaper would certainly be a logical place to put the word out to those that are not in the loop.

We do have a house alarm with the windows stickers and signs that push in the ground. Our neighborhood has had quite a few break ins lately, including the house across the street and 2 doors down. I'm convinced we have not been targeted because of our security stickers and signs.

[quote=gomoho;802440]Makes sense....

Thank Goodness you weren't. I'm gonna go with that then, for now. Thanks!

You can get them here. A bit expensive but well worth it. Click on the little a below.


[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Brinks-Security-System-Signs-Stickers/dp/B004T5H9UQ]Amazon.com: 2 New Brinks Home Security Alarm System Yard Signs & 8 Brinks Window Decal Stickers: Patio, Lawn & Garden[/ame]

Cheap and easy idea is to always leave the radio, TV or something with volume turned up so it could be heard from the front door so the crooks can hear that somebody may be in the house and move on......Costs a little electricity but much more cost effective than a security system.

We do that here in Miami.

There have been quite a few "kick ins". Gilcrest, Cedar Grove, now Fernandina. These all seem to be occurring south of 466a and west of Buena Vista. Keep your eyes open. These beautiful glass doors are not secure & allow the bad guys to look right in. As with any town/city, due diligence is required. Slide bolts for your doors, alarm systems, etc. Remember, this is The Friendliest Place, not necessarily The Safest Place.

Very good information, thanks for taking your time to look it up and post it.

we have a kissing lanai, and the couple spend every waking minute there..kind of like a live alarm.

Ladylaw, I applaud you for speaking up as I do OscarOlden.....even though you only have 2 posts and Oscar didn't have hundreds ( like I have) or thousands like some posters who really discredited him. It was obvious Oscar had credible info but right away he was pounced on with such comments as " childish" "vigilante behavior" "very shallow information" "So many people are totally anonymous on here and they can or cannot be trusted". "It would be gullible to swallow stuff from someone who we have little reading history on this forum and always enjoyed stirring things up".

I for one appreciate Oscar for speaking up and I appreciate you coming on to give us excellent advice....even though you only have two posts. Sometimes it's not quantity.....but quality that counts.

Ouch.

House Checks, Adult Watch, INFO
 

Community Watch offers Home House Checks for $5.00 per week as needed.

Three times per week at random times a Patrol Driver gets out and walks the property as per instructions left my the resident..

For example: Should or should not be a car in the yard, Name of landscapers. Name of an Emergency Key Holder etc etc.

Some people even use this service to check on their home when renters are in it.

Some use the service for peace of mind while away for short trips or extended summer vacations. While no system is perfect criminals who stake out property do not like random patrols stopping.

This Home Watch Service used to be advertised at the Lake Minoa Recreation Centers new residents Meet and Greet Social. There is also a Community Watch Home Adult Watch. A free service where a resident is called by Dispatch every day at a set time to make sure all is well.

For what ever reason after 15 years Community Watch and The Fire Department were asked to not attend anymore. I hear they now bring in Golf Carts to sell?

Just to correct a little problem with direction. Fernandina is east of Buena Vista.


I so agree with the rest of your post but had not heard particulars on the ones in Gilcrest and Cedar Grove. Can you tell us when they happened? AND where is the Village of Cedar Grove. I have never heard of it..


Never mind. I see it is a street. This is quite unnerving. Lawlady. Are you in the new area?

If I may..to be clear and straightforward.

Over the years on this forum, there have been many a rash of posts made that were untrue, made up, and intended only to get attention and rile everyone up.

Almost 100% of those posters had one single thing in common.....a low post count.

Because of that, most on here take note of that.

Your message was not needed.....nobody accused anyone of anything.

As you and others suggest caution in your neighborhood, I will suggest you exercise that same caution on TOTV. You will find a lot of folks who are not exactly what they purport.

Beginning to sound awfully dangerous here on TOTV...

Your comment is very very sophomoric. Not sure of you agenda, but obvious you have one, and some poster will figure it out and call you on it..of that be sure.

If I am wrong, I apologize, but this constant harping as we have had to listen to sound very very much of a ...well can't come up with a name for it, but seems things always have a way of working out.

Breakins happen at times, and it is more than irresponsible to make a comment like yours about my hometown, where I have lived for over 13 years, and KNOW FACTUALLY how safe it is here, thus my questions on intent.

By the way, the only thing dangerous on TOTV is filtering out certain people..takes time sometimes, but then you know who the immatures and game players are. Everyone on here does not always agree except when it comes to certain actions

As I said, "It is getting to be very dangerous on TOTV".

Posters
 

There are many people who live in The Villages who are on TOTV watching. They only come on to post when they find it necessary. Often times people want to question the number of posts they have made, before they will consider a poster valid. Every member of this forum has the right to post. If you don't agree... That's really OK. But let the rest of us make that decision for ourselves.

Many of us knew about the break-in's for awhile. We have been trying to post about them long before this. It was hard getting past the nay sayers to get people to listen. Maybe we could have gotten the word out better if the people who " didn't believe" would have let the people who did believe it get the word out.

I would rather have someone feel free to post, (for example the golf cart stolen) and be wrong... Than to be afraid to post homes being broken into and be right.

Swimdawg was only quoting another poster as an example of why people are afraid to post. We all live here! We all care! No one is trying to tarnish the brass of The Villagers... We are just trying to protect our homes.

I will no longer be afraid to post... You know who I am. My name is Angie Fox. People who know me know I am honest. I have my REAL name out here.

I feel sorry when a valued member like Shcisamax is reluctant to post because she feels derogatory comments will be made.

Yes, every website gets a few trolls from time to time. However I think we have to start accepting posts at face value from old and new members alike, unless we have an excellent reason to doubt their authenticity. And in my humble opinion, being new doesn't count as a good reason.

Good info!
 

Once again, thank you for great info. I wonder why these services are not highly advertised?

"Many of us knew about the break-in's for awhile. We have been trying to post about them long before this. It was hard getting past the nay sayers to get people to listen. Maybe we could have gotten the word out better if the people who " didn't believe" would have let the people who did believe it get the word out."

This is just thinking out loud and not a criticism of anyone - since it seems as though quite a few people knew about break-in's - and it did not get publicized, why didn't (or don't) they obtain a copy of the police report and take it to The Daily Commercial or the Orlando Sentinel - if The Daily Sun would not take the story? As I said earlier, the Orlando Sentinel hates The Villages and would love to print bad press about us.

The home owners would have a copy of the police report and the exact address could have been removed for putting in a newspaper - or scanned on-line for the posting on TOTV.

Apparently my thread on cyberbullying was closed prematurely, i.e. "Please inform me."

It was an attempt to elicit introspection and dialogue.

Maybe we can start the thread again.

Why don't the initial posters who hear or are privy in some way to the break-ins or other crimes call the police and get a confirmation, and then post? If they came on with confirmed information, the nay-sayers would be silenced. Nobody likes rumors. If it didn't happen to you, get some confirmation from a reliable source, then post.

it would solve a lot of the perceived "bullying" problems.

Exactly!

Why would someone call the police and get conformation when they already know it's true?

I knew the stories were true and posted such... People wanted conformation. Then... for crying out loud... You get it. I already knew it.

I will post. If you want conformation. YOU get it! If I am wrong, the worst that can happen is someone locks their doors a little more or pays closer attention.

Someone posted the phone number to the police. Write down and make the call. In the meantime. I trust that my neighbors are telling me the truth. I don't know that they have any reason to lie.

I think Rubicon would call that a red herring. The non emergency numbers aren't answering as it's the weekend.


I imagine by Tuesday we will know just how many break ins occurred, where and when. Then we can clearly define the problem.

We need a number because??????

How many does it take for people to pay attention?

What is that magic number???

What will anyone do different if it's one, two , three, or ten?

For crying out loud..... What is wrong with people????

When you debate an issue you attack the premise, not the debater.

Clearly in some of the post here, and others on TOTV, personal innuendo is being used.

Whether you clearly recognize that or not may depend on which side of the table you are sitting on.

This whole thing is very amazing to me. It seems "new" people have no value, and must be one of the few that make the decisions on here to be listened to. I, for one, am just so over having to have all my thoughts verified and sanctioned by, who??? who are you, TOTV police? What I hoped could be useful information to me, has just turned into a war of who knows what, who knows more, and now that I know it all, you can believe the newbies. Wow....America's friendliest hometown?

I don't understand your response. Are you saying I should google for proof of what someone posts on the forum as being true, instead of they themselves providing credible evidence of what they are saying?

I'm just saying if you hear a rumor, check it out with the police or whoever is a reliable source before posting. Unless you saw it yourself or talked to the victim (not the victim's cousin's brother-in-law's next-door neighbor), find some facts before posting.

I think what people are getting upset about are the posters who say such-and-such happened and don't provide any further information or facts.

WOW -- what does this mean --- i dont feel like looking it up (and RDC)

It's not that I don't believe folks when they post about a burglary, break-in, theft, etc, but it's important to substantiate those reports. Knowledge is indeed power, but only if that knowledge is accurate.

Unsubstantiated reports tend to take on a life of their own, and become legend, even when proven false. Most recently we have had a report of a golf cart stolen from a driveway. As it turned out, that was a "false alarm", but I guarantee you, the initial report will reach many more folks than than the retraction will.

I've recently read a post (which I can't find) from someone who stated that there have been "kick-ins" in Gilchrest, Fernandina, and (somewhere else I can't recall). I've not heard of reports about "kick-ins" in any of those Villages.

I have heard about (3) kick-ins in Sanibel over the past few months. And I've heard about the slider door break in entry in Fernandina. I do believe those reports as they have come from multiple sources here.

I don't know why these burglaries haven't yet been reported, but you can't blame the Daily Sun, because they haven't been reported in any other news sources yet, including the Villages Online news, which is usually right on top of things.

As for those folks who are lining up on sides...bullies vs non-bullies? Really? People have opinions...that's it. We're all old enough to know better than to give a rat's ass about anyone else's opinion.