Can You See What I See?

I'm thinking about filming what seems to be gang related activity in our neighborhood. Not where I can be seen, of course, but from some vantage point. I have used this tactic to help prosecute criminals before, and if nothing else, it was always great back-up if all else failed. I have not decided how to get in close enough to get what I need, but I am considering many different possibilities. I do not want our "hot" corners to get like they were, and I intend to speak with JSO about them at the SHADCO meeting next Thursday.

As always, I would love to get your ideas about this subject, and any hot area you know of that I may not know of yet. Until then, I will be charging up the ol' Sony Super 8. Oh yeah, on the gang subject, has anyone else noticed that the "colors" have changed? Two years ago it was red (Bloods?) and now its all black. Thoughts?

Shananigans

I have never said that graffiti was not an art form, or that a graffiti artist is not an artist. I'm just saying that if it is art, my property is not your canvas. Neither is the property of my neighbors. I hold a special place in my heart for vandals. I just notice that as I am driving/walking around in Riverside, I see a LOT of petty vandalism. It is common in the "artsy" parts of any city, as well as in the more "diverse" areas. Lots of folks would tell you that its because we have a lot of kids in the area with nothing to do. I disagree. I have caught young kids doing horrible things to peoples homes and businesses in our area, but more often than not, it is adults that are the guilty party. In Riverside, we have loads of slackers living (?) among us. When you wake up at the crack of dark, after sleeping all day, and you don't have a dime to entertain yourself, what do you do? You could smoke some weed and go out throwing eggs, or rocks. You could also take some spray paint out of the shed, and paint a picture of a joint, for no good reason.

I saw a fire extinguisher laying in the street the other night, with all of the cars around it covered in the powder it contains. That must have been really fun. My point is, I hate this kind of crap more than even real crime. If a crack-head steals my extension cord, I know he sold it to buy crack. The slacker has no excuse for why he caused you to have to have a new window put in your car. He does not care that it costs you 400 dollars, and your bills were due. He does not care that your kids are scared to go to sleep because of his pointless action. I keep an extra sharp eye for these guys, particularly the older ones. I did vandalism as a young boy, and I am not proud of it. I think most everyone has done something along those lines at some point. But, I think when you are old enough to vote, the penalty for being caught doing this type crap should be severe. I call it "adult truancy" and I think they all need a place to be during the day, even if just doing volunteer work for others. I hate slackers, and Riverside is FULL of slackers.

Treason in Your Own Home?

I am afraid that we may all be offering sensitive information to a new type of "spy" operating in our neighborhoods. We are not selling the information, but handing it out for free. We are in a sense, committing treason on our neighbors and our OWN homes. I want us all to take note the next time we get that knock at the door, and find the ol' home alarm system folks on the porch here in Riverside. I have noticed that, when these folks come around offering their services at "never before heard of prices" we all get a little too friendly with the information. I have seen them going door to door, in teams, and using the little bit of personal information they got from the guy next door to push their way inside YOUR home. They ask a string of questions about your homes security, and in answering these simple yes or no inquires, you give up the whole house without even realizing that you did.

Whether you buy or not, they ask you for other names of other people (who may not have an alarm) on your street. They want to know if your home was pre-wired, or if you are "currently activated" and do you have contacts on ALL your doors and windows or just one or two? These are not the kind of things to discuss with some guy who walked up and rang your bell out of the blue. Do what I do when they come calling, and tell them that you are not interested in discussing your homes security with a stranger. Let that be that. Then, if you want to really go the "extra mile" for your neighbors who may not know better, go ahead and call the Police. let them get some I.D. from them, and show them that some of us do have a plan, that starts with not allowing shenanigan's on our streets. I'm not saying that all of these people are up to no good, I am saying that it is not worth it to find out. Do business with people you called out on your schedule, not standing on the porch while your dinner goes cold.

Am I going too Far?

I want to know why, it is against the law to impersonate a Police Officer, but it is OK to drive a Police car around town? I am really tired of seeing these cars all over my neighborhood, and the entire city for that matter. They are usually driven by people about as far from the right side of the law as possible. I have heard time and time again about people being pulled over, and robbed or worse by people impersonating an officer. I want to ask the Sheriff about this issue. I have noticed (even today) that there are unmarked JSO cars working traffic along I95. If I EVER look up and see an unmarked car behind me, attempting to pull me over on the road somewhere, look out! I'm not stopping. I hope that you would not either, if you can not be assured that the person inside is an actual officer. You can buy these cars anywhere, and I work with a guy who bought one with the flashing lights still in it! You can even get the blue lights, no questions asked, in stores all over Florida, and especially on the Internet. I know it is drastic, but I want these cars made illegal to operate in the Police-like condition. I want to see the antennas removed, the push bars taken off the front, the spot light pulled off the side window post. I want to see them repainted from the black and white. I see them everyday with the "Police Interceptor" decal on the trunk lid. When I see one behind me, I intend to call the non-emergency JSO number, and tell them the situation. I will wait for them to confirm that the person behind me is legit. I think if its OK to let thugs drive Police cars, then I don't think it is unreasonable for me to ask for a little proof of who is trying to get me out of my car. Tell me what you think. Thanks, Chris-

Great Tool for a Better Neighborhood

This is an excellent tip for anyone interested in improving your neighborhood. It's so simple, even I could do it- and I do. As you are walking, driving, or biking through your area, keep your eyes open. If you live in an area with a high rental population, like I do, look for "for rent" signs. Now, before I go into this, there are no bad renters, just bad rental owners. This is not entirely true, but it is important when working to improve your area. When you see a sign for a rental availability, jot down the address and number contact for the owner.

If the sign is hand written, I find that you will most likely be recording the phone contact number for the actual owner. If the sign is commercial, or a printed sign, you are taking the number for an agency. The difference can be crucial. You need to take down the number, and the address so that IF or WHEN you have any trouble with the renter, you have someone to call (or report) if you have to. Let's say it's three in the morning. The renter has decided that three a.m., on Wednesday morning is a great time to call over a few hundred friends for a party! After you call the non emergency number for the police, call the owner. Tell him or her that the new tenant has you up and awake, and you started getting lonely. You called them to have someone to talk to, because, after all, it is three in the morning. Every one else you know is sleeping! This is an extreme tactic, and I don't recommend it as a first option. The point is that you now have the owner's number to talk to them about any problems. You may find that the owner appreciates you letting them know about these sort of things, BEFORE they get out of hand. Nightly noise means the tenant has no respect for you, so why would they respect the property they have moved into? People driving up to "visit" them all night may mean they are selling drugs. As you may know, a drug seizure of the owners property could cause them to lose it. You may though, just be treated like a pain in the butt by the owner, and get no help at all. If that happens, let me know. If the property for rent has an agency's sign in front of it, you will be dealing with a real estate agency.

This can be more difficult, but not impossible. Sometimes the agency will work to keep a good name. Sometimes they will not even speak with you. Again, in this situation, you may need more help to get anything done. Start a file on your area, complete with a few store bought or hand made maps. mark the properties that are rented, and put those numbers and addresses in the file as well. You can use all of this to "build a case" if you ever need to. I want to add that, you could even go as far as calling the owner or agent, and having them come out to "show" the property. Tell them you have a friend moving to town, and you are helping them find a place to live. This way, you will get to see the layout, meet the owner or agent, get business cards, etc. You may want to get a quick look at the auto tag on the owners car. This will show you if they are coming in and out of state. Also, ask them where THEY live. I like to know that as well. What I do is program the number, with the address of the home as the name, in my cell phone. This will help make things quicker if something really bad is going down, like an arrest or a fire. Seeing the layout will tell you how much room is in the house, so if you notice the tenant has moved twenty people in a six hundred square foot space, you may need to make a call. The most important issue here is that you pay attention to your area, and notice any changes. You will get nowhere if you just drive straight in and out to your own driveway. Come in a different way from time to time, and look around. This is the best you can do for our community. That's all I have right now, let me know if you have any questions. Chris-

This is the Warning-

I keep hearing people talking about seeing men on bicycles in the vicinity of homes that have been robbed, just before the crime occurs. I don't think JSO has made any connection, and I may be crazy, but ask around. If you drive through these streets in Riverside during the day, you will see them. Grown men, peddling around, and breaking their necks looking in all directions. I see the same ones, over and over. I believe that these men are acting as "spotters" for other parties. I have heard of people seeing a man on a bike, and then two more in a car or van, arriving at a home that is later found burglarised. The bike man is present during the burglary. I see them in my area, doing "figure eights" in front of homes, trying to get a better look without lingering. I'm not talking about exercising, or using the bike for transportation. I mean circling the neighborhood like vultures, waiting for you to slip up. Start looking at these guy's when you see them. Take a good look, and then notice where and when you see them again. When you do see them again, call the police.