:clap2: Hope they are listening. I see jokes about it mostly here.

Ok, now y'all are cracking me up.

No, The Villages is not 100% crime free but it is safer than any other area of the country I have ever heard of. Where else can someone feel 100% safe walking on deserted streets after midnight or driving in a golf cart along a cart path that is unlit through woodsy areas?

I can only think of one violent crime in the 2 years I have been here and that was a domestic shooting between wife and husband in their home.

You will see a rude person once in a great while but no fighting. The crowds at the town squares are very pleasant. I actually like to see the teens around Spanish Springs - all are non-threatening and basically it is a great safe environment for them to be in.

Very few robberies from golf carts except when parked in large lots at the edges of The Villages.

This is truly the best place you can imagine to live.

I didn't mean to imply that these young people were committing crimes in The Villages. From what little is reported in the Police Blotter it seems that most of their crimes happen outside. I have no issue having well-behaved kids of any age here visiting. The issue I have is with immature kids in their 20s and 30s who live here with parents or grandparents. Some are involved with drugs and the next thing we know WE could be burglarized for enough money to buy a bag of "crack"....Oops, I said it again!

I agree with a lot of what you say, except the part about robberies from golf carts. We've been here 5-6 years, and there has been a continual problem with theft from golf carts - mostly theft of golf clubs, and for awhile there was a rash of thefts of the actual carts. People tend to leave their carts outside the country clubs when they go in for a drink or for lunch, and come out and find stuff missing. There have been many threads posted about these thefts and what people are doing to deter them. Suggestion - just don't be complacent about it. Cover your clubs up, or lock them, and don't leave anything valuable like a range finder, sky caddie, or woman's purse on the cart when you're not there.

Increase in crime (?)
 

Like anything else, this needs to be stopped before it gets out of hand. Therefore, seriously, where do we begin?

You are so right of course but as Bogie Shooter points out, there isn't anything we can do about it. You can't write rules for this kind of stuff. You can't have all residents kids take drug tests. Most residents are good examples and their kids are great and are staying with them until they find a job or go back to college.

We all have friends whose kids are not great because the friends overprotect and enable them and there are bound to be folks like this in TV too. Some kids are just rotten apples and the parents have been struggling with it all along. Just not an easy answer and a perplexing one for The Villages as there aren't social programs geared for younger people here.

It is a problem and thank heavens almost all of us don't work and we are like a huge army of neighborhood watch and we are watching out for each other.

Perhaps a group of residents could start by visiting with the Sheriff. They tend to listen when voters complain. I'm not a resident or owner, but still in the decision process. Unless things improve I'll be a "Mighthavebeen".

It is sad that you might make a decision not to become a resident because of this thread, populated by doomsday remarks.
A meeting with the sheriff may just point out this "problem" is not as big as some folks believe it is. This is not to say we do not or will not have crime.........but fearful of moving here or going out at night,,,,I think not.

I agree with Bogie Shooter. As a wannabee, I have felt safe when in TV on my visits. No one can guarantee that one will be safe 100% all of the time or there will be no crimes ever committed. I would certainly take TV over where I have lived or presently live.

As with anything else especially driving , "one must be alert to their surroundings".

Considerations
 

It is probably very difficult to determine who and when a younger person
in The Villages will commit a crime. Is it possible to deny them and their
sponsoring resident from receiving the residency/guest passes. No access
to the pools, rec centers, etc. If a felony is involved then it would certaintly
be appropriate to remove the priveleges The Villages offer. As I understand
it using the facilities of THe Villages is a privelege and not a "right"?
There has to be consequences from these acts of criminal behavior. Not to
have consequences it is almost being an enabler since the violator knows
they can continue and also enjoy THe Villages facilities.
I would guess that knowing your priveleges along with your resident sponsors
would be denied would give some a second thought before proceeding to
be a criminal. :popcorn:

We are well into our fourth year here, now year around residents and have never personally run into any person who has been a law breaker or known personally of anyone else who did know of any....Just saying.

But you read the police blotter and most of the crimes that do happen in TV...and there aren't many are caused by kids.

I re-read this thread and what I read between the lines from most stems from the marketing of the villages. Marketing people either implied or inferred that you would be buying "exclusivity". There was a belief by many prospective residents that this was a golf cart gated community for those over 55 only and that The Villages belonged to thm town centers and all. I remember one of the marketing people who took us on a trolley ride saying we love to have our kids visit but it is nice to see their taillights leaving our driveway.

But the reality is that we are a community of 88,000 people and when the building is finished will be in excess of 105,000. By any standard that is not a small city. Add to that it is confined to some 35 square miles. Anyone can ride through and/or visit here. Local people attend events at the town centers. People rent for a week, a month a year at a time. 20% of the population can be under 55 and purchase a home.

So I am surprised that so many people are surprised by some of the goings on.
It is true that the crime rate is lower than most places. Even in the richest neighborhoods in the country bad things happen to good people. Essentially we are no different then any other community in America.

What and how many??

Well said. Before we purchased we knew that TV was not perfect, but we also knew that no place is perfect. We don't call TV "paradise," we call it "paradise with warts." Yet we still love it, warts and all.