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Great ideas. Someone posted this before, but it's worth repeating--it's really a good idea to bond with your neighbors, keep an eye out for each other, etc. Last year one of our neighbors caught burglars breaking into the house across from him (alerted by his loyal dog who was later rewarded with lots of yummy treats). The neighbor called Pahoa police, they came in minutes, and apprehended the perps. A beautiful thing!
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
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Aloha Glen,
Thanks for your heart.
Wow! In one hour today, (while I was working) the responses to this post shredded hope for cooperation and emboldened thieves who see no unity in the community.
Wow!
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
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I doubt they're reading this forum...or anything else much for that matter. Don't leave yourself open to opportunity. Hide the good stuff like Batman. And the rest... Oh well.
It's not Costa Rica, Home Invasions, Movie Stars, etc.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
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Park 4 rusted out vehicles with broken out windows and various missing parts at your driveway entrance.
Seriously, there are some pretty sweet game trail cameras out there; camoed and motion activated. Get da buggahs on film.
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But wouldn't they just take the game cameras?
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quote:
But wouldn't they just take the game cameras?
That would be my concern. The better but more expensive method is the digital video that is recorded by a service off site.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Posts: 2,466
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Crime such as what you're discussing here is more destructive than you think. On a psychological level, the perception a place is dangerous, drastically lowers its value. Dangerous neighborhood means housing values will be very low. Low housing values means lower taxes on to lower services and so on. It's a vicious downward spiral and is very difficult to stop.
I have witnessed this here in Kansas City in the death of two (used to be) popular shopping malls. One is Bannister Mall whihc had about 200 hundred stores and about 10 restaurants. It was THE mall to shop in Kansas City. After about 15 years the robberies and car break-ins began. Security was beefed up even to the point of offering escorts to customers that requested them. About 2005, people finally decided it was too dangerous to go there. The mall is now boarded up and waiting for the dozers to bury it.
The other mall was Indian Springs and it was popular mall on the Kansas side. Drugs and the related crimes are what killed that one. These malls closed during what was then the top of the economic cycle here.
I'd hate to see this happen to the Puna area, it would be a tragic waste that no one dares live there for fear of crime.
My dad was a cop and he said the best way to deter crime is with human eyes.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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Back in the eighties, Hawaiian Acres had a huge crime wave. They organized a very efficient Community Watch program and went from about 500 break ins a month to less than two. All this happened within a month or two, also. It was a huge decrease in crime. At least, crime in Hawaiian Acres, I don't know if crime went up in other areas. As the economy sours, crime will increase as folks need to get money to pay rent, buy food, etc.
As far as individual crime, the story of the two guys running from the bear and one guy saying he didn't think he could outrun a bear with the other replying all he had to do was to outrun the other guy comes to mind. If your house has a fence, gate, dog, neighbors, etc., then it isn't as likely to be burgled as the house without the same stuff. Also a "fancy" house is more likely to be a target than a "modest" house. Use local standards of "fancy" and "modest" when determining the visible status of your house, too. There is already a huge discrepancy between the "haves" and the "have nots" and a poor economy makes it even worse. That doesn't mean crime is the answer, though.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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Wondering if this burglary problem is local to Puna area or does it happen all over the island? If more of a unique Puna district problem, then it seems its best to start at the core of the problem (i.e. kids with nothing better to do, transients thinking Puna is an attractive place to hang out, insufficient police or security presence, lack of community involvement). BTW Puna area residents should not feel singled out, this same problem exists in large cities and other rural areas. My own neighbor hood had a rash of break-ins during the day when everyone was at work. Seems the most likely houses to get broken into were the ones w/ no inside locks/deadbolts (break the glass and you are in), all of their "stuff" was clearly visable from the windows, house looked easy to break in. Sometimes just a cheap fake security system w/ a sign out front is enough for the thieves to look elsewhere.
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Alert: There was a break-in in lower HPP. The police did come out to investigate, and did a good job, I hear, talking to neighbors and gathering evidence.
