lock and load.

That was exactly my thought when I read that comment....WATCH out for Kathie's pit bulls....oops I mean schnauzers!! They are vicious! Well they want to be! LOL:boxing2::1rotfl::1rotfl:

However....any dog would be a little scary in compared to our princess cats!!

We have three cats with black belts. OOPs I meant two!

Newspaper reports of break-ins and burglaries
 

And recently near Tiera del Sol.

You hardly hear any mention in the Daily Sun of these increasing number of burglaries. The paper will report crimes in Fruitland Park, Wildwood, Belleview and other communities but rarely a mention of break-ins and thefts in TV.

I know that paper doesn't want to ruin the image of America's Friendliest Hometown but they do residents a disservice by not reporting all of these crimes. This lack of reporting lulls folks into a false sense of security. After all we do live in a community with gates and video recording of cars and license plates. How much do they deter?

Police cannot patrol TV all day in every area. So it is essential that folks start watching out for their neighbors and vice versa and call 911 for every suspicious situation.

Unfortunately, the economic situation will lead to more crime especially against seniors.

I agree with you completely. I pray that I am never in a position that I have to use my weapon but should something happen, I am
prepared. We have our own pistol/rifle range in Pa so could target shoot
frequently. I have heard we have several local gun ranges, but have not used any down here.

I am sorry if it seemed I made light of this situation!

I was thinking of Kathie's dogs ready to attack...:boxing2:....they love their Momma!!

Now I have the karate kitties at Gracie's in my mind (just the two of them).

Hadley is a well protected village apparently...send the schnauzers and karate kittie's out on patrol!!

However...I agree that the paper should run at the very least an article about home safety. Reminding residents that this really isn't a bubble as we all like to think. This world is sometimes unsafe and there are some horrible people everywhere. They do not have to report the breakins....but they should stress the possibility and concern!! JMO

I suppose that if everyone calls the sheriff's office for every concern...perhaps they will ask the paper to write something!

Since The Villages Daily Sun advertising rag (it's not a real newspaper) doesn't write about the crimes within TV, and since it is critical (IMHO) that residents be made aware of these incidents, I have one suggestion to offer.

At times like this, the POA is very useful. I suggest that each resident who is a victim of a crime write a letter to the editor of the POA. Hopefully, the POA will publish all letters so that the residents can be warned.

I have a question. Are pistol permits requried in Florida? I'm not interested in carrying a weapon, but would like to have one (legally) in my home for personal protection. Of course, I'd take some training courses. The little I've shot pistols/rifles, I was a damn good shot!

Isn't the POA rag published monthly?? Will be a little late.

Better late than never.

Bestmickey:

Here is you answer about florida gun laws:

http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/FLSL.pdf

Thanks Mel!

bestmickey
 

Stop by the Sheriffs office. They will point you in the right direction re: weapons permit. Florida gun laws are some of the most intelligent and reasonable that I have seen. OOPS just saw Mel's post. That is better.

I do not mean to denigrate the losses of those who have been victims. They have suffered both financially and psychologically. And I do feel sorry for them. However, this does not mean that Villagers should develop a siege mentality. Right now, this is a metro area of 70,000 people. Picture any city of 70,000 people back where you came from. Think they had any burglaries last night? And then put those 70,000 people in an area that is financially much worse off than their area and watch the burglary count soar.

Remember, to many of our neighbors in surrounding towns, we in TV are RICH. For those who were here at the time, remember the reply from those scum sucking dogs who killed one of our neighbors a while back. The cretins expected to find stacks of money in the elderly couple's home. When the police asked why, one of the morons replied, "They live in The Villages. Everybody there is rich."

All things considered, TV is quite safe. Yes, there are golf carts stolen and some homes burglarized. I've not heard of any, but there's probably been a mugging or two. And yes, many of these are reported in the Daily Sun (bye the bye, how accurate was the infamous STD story reported in the Leesburg Daily Wipe?), but not all. I agree they could do a better job. But I won't be putting steel bars on my windows or doing NYC locks on my front door. Chill

Muncle. When you speak, pearls of wisdom fall from your lips!:agree::agree::agree:

Well said Muncie.
BTW, Daily Sun today Local section a report on the break-ins.
Now the bashing will continue; the developer should add police, the developer censored the daily sun on reporting, we should have reverse telephone warning, etc.
There have been (and will be) break-ins....just be vigilant and take some personal responsibility.

Muncle,
I totally agree with you.
Other that putting a wooden dowel in our slider tracks, we are not going to do anything different. I still feel this is an extremely safe area, we just happen to have had the bad luck to be one of the miniscule victims.

Now if only we could be one of the miniscule lottery winners..... :1rotfl:

Minty.

What a great attitude!

Were the other three, the one robbery and the other two attempted break ins in Sabel Chase too.

:a040:
Minty, I salute your joie de vivre. Hope you hit it big on Powerball this weekend. Remember though, you gotta buy a ticket if you're going to play the game.

:mademyday:

Not sure if you heard but the burglaries have spread to several areas in the Villages.

First was Hacienda Hills, then Palo Ato, Stanta Damingo, than the latest incidents further west and south in the Villages.

The police are now actively patroling in these areas and village watch has been increased.

One of our contractors were stopped and were asked to register their business with the sumter sheriffs office so that companies can be tracked.

It seems that they the police are doing there best.

I think residents should consider writing the Community development distict and Mark Morres and voice thier concerns. It would not take that long. After all they still need to build out the community and get people to purchase here. Give constructive suggestions and I believe they will respond to them positively. I wrote several letters to them and have been impressed with their reponsiveness on this matter.

Thanks

Gracie,
I think one burglary was north of 466, and the 2 attempts in the Belvedere area. We are in Virginia trace.
So they were very spread out...

But the crooks will make a mistake soon and it will be over. :eek:

A Quote
 

I remember the sign the ex Governor of Minnesota had over the entrance to his ranch. It read: "We don't call 911"

I have stickers on all our doors...
 

this house has a security system...

Protected by Smith and Wesson.

It is a never miss system.

BTK

Ah Muncle, always a voice of sanity. You are right that we are living in a very safe community. However it was a good "heads up" for me as I don't always close my patio doors. Instead I depend on my 70 lb dog to bark. Not a smart plan.

So a little more caution is a good thing.

And I did see the break-in locations, (and even the "almost" break-ins) published in the Daily Sun. So they are keeping residents aware.

The burglaries and the two attempted burglaries (the latter across the street from where we live in Village of Belvedere) were reported in detail in today's (11 Feb 09) Daily Sun, "Local" section.

I tried to find the article in The Daily Sun online, but couldn't find it. Ether I did not search the right items or it may not be available online. Has anyone found it online?

Yes, a report appeared on page C4 (should have been on the front page?) of The Villages Daily Sun yesterday, Wednesday, Feb. 11. Forced entry shows a type of boldness that is frightening.

Carole, we are not in TV now. Did you see the article in the actual paper or online? Pat

The Villages Daily Sun online edition...
 

usually will not pick up stuff off of the various front pages from each Daily section. They do get the lead stories from each section though.

Nothing online, Starflyte. My neighbor said she heard it from a former neighbor who now lives in NJ, who heard it from a current Villages resident. Bad news travels fast, & wide. Just protect yourself.

Muncle puts it all into perspective. TV is still an extremely safe place to live.

From what I've seen and know about TV I agree wholeheartedly!

My husband and I were on a preview visit the night of the break-in and heard the helicopter circling around for about 15-20 minutes. At the time I was very nervous not knowing what was going on. I kept looking out the window, but could only see the helicopter.

It was frustrating to not find anything about the incident the following day in the Daily Sun. Once we got back home and read what happened on TOTV we were surprised they sent a helicopter (and dogs, but we didn't know about them at the time) to a "cold" burglary.

To put it all in perspective: We currently live in a community that many people describe as "Mayberry." Low crime rate, great schools, excellent police and fire response times, etc... I can guarantee you if I came home and discovered that my house had been burglarized while I was gone and I called the police they would show up. However, it would probably be one officer, perhaps accompanied by a community service officer who would collect evidence. Compare that to TV where a husband and wife come home only to find out that their privacy had been invaded by criminals who stole thousands of dollars worth of their property. The homeowners saw nothing, no people, no sounds and the bad guys were gone. Yet, the local law enforcement responded with a HUGE presence.

This type of response by law enforcement says a lot about the community. I'm looking forward to moving to TV and exchanging my current Mayberry to TV where it is obviously a "Mayberry to the Max." kind of place. :)

Kudos to the police and the people of TV who look after each other so well.

Oh don't get me wrong Kathie, I didn't mean to sound like my defenses would be dropped. Our doors are locked even when we are home. All I really meant was that even though there have been a recent rash of burglaries, TV is a relatively safe place compared to many other cities.

We know we will have a house alarm when we live in TV. Another thing we have been considering all along is whether or not to have cameras as well. The jury is still out regarding the camera issue.

I wonder if the swaying palms will set off your motion detectors?

More on the break-ins.

The person that sent it verified it with the Police Dept.


There is a band of burglers working in our area. They hit four houses in Virgina Trace alone on Friday evening. They work after dark--keep an eye out for cars and carts leaving the garage.
They go in through the lanai - if it's locked, they cut the screen and reach in. Then take a crowbar and pry open the slider. They even have a powerful magnet that if you have a metal bar to lock the slider, they can lift it. A wood dowel is good. The police have traced their path with bloodhounds - from the houses to the Virigina Trace gate. They were on foot. They are taking money and jewelry. These are professionals. You know how dark the backs of our houses are. They are working south of 466.

Not that I doubt the veracity of whomever sent this email to Hancle....but,

Minty.... can you independently confirm that there were 4 robberies in Va Trace last Friday? The paper only mentioned the one that was described earlier in this thread. The paper did mention other incidents in other neighborhoods.

Just curious... because I have received at least 2 emails from other non TOTV people about recent burglaries in TV. Each message has different 'facts'.

Additional information from a neighbor this morning...
 

Just rec'd some new (I think) information about the rash of burglaries in The Villages -- latest one last night in Virginia Trace.

Be on the lookout for a younger-type woman walking in the streets talking on a phone - she is the accomplice to a male driving around in an old-type upholstery van -- panel type they think. Call 911 immediately if you see anything suspicious. Most incidents occur between 6:00 and 9:00 pm. Police advised to be very wary and alert -- put wooden dowels in the bottom of your sliding doors as an extra precaution - do not leave windows open -- leave lights on when not there or a radio/TV -- ask neighbors to watch your house if you are gone for a few hours -- hide your jewelry well - take pictures of expensive items -- lock your doors during the day even if you are there.

Because of the lousy economy, more and more bad people are going to be looking for an easy mark to hit and there are plenty of them here - don't be among the sorry few.

Billy, Is it a van from an upholstery business or is that a type of van, also called a panel van that you mentioned? We don't want to start rumors and my saying that could do just that. What is an upholstery van?

GG....different folks assign different characteristics
 

to vehicles. The email was sent by a neighbor. My guess is what she is referring to is a van that has no windows. Some may have a couple of windows in the back doors only....and others will have no windows all around except for the windshield.

I would pay attention to all while out and about, but in particular those. Also, pay particular attention to anyone walking your property or your neighbors.

If in doubt call the police. In the current environment, the bigger net will involve innocents that will clear very quickly.

Diligence and common sense are the two most important ingredients.

BTK