I forget my purse all the time on the coffee table, but I know that when I’m back, my purse is still there and nothing is missing. To me, home is a place where I can store my personal belonging without having to think twice. It is also a place where I can release my stress after a long hard day from work and it is known to be my sanctuary. The thought of something missing in my home when I get back from work truly pisses me off. I would hate it if each and every day I had to worry about whether today my home would be broken into.
Everyone works hard to have a place called “home”. It should not be vandalize by unwanted disturbance, for incidents such as neighbor’s foreclosure. Unfortunately, Slavic Village, Cleveland had their fare share of disturbance. Jim Rokakis, a Cuyohoga County Treasurer felt that after 800 homes have been foreclosed, crime seem to have increased. It seems to be that squatters and looters started to move into the empty home. Mark Wiseman, the director of Cuyohogan County Foreclosure Prevention Program, said that, “It takes about 72 hours for a house to be looted after it is vacant.” They would trash the vacant home, leaving the yard covered in garbage. It just seems to me that starting a neighborhood watch program can minimize the looters and squatters from staying in the empty homes.
A lot of people need to think to their selves, if their neighbor’s home is already being invaded, what’s stopping their home from incidence such as burglaries? I fore sure don’t want squatters or looters near my home. I would not like to be playing the guessing game of whether or not I will come home to missing items. Having this program in the neighborhood, burglaries are more caution when they know people are watching.
Homes being foreclosed attract gang members. Joe Krasucki, 78, died the next day after being badly beaten; he was outside noticing gang members stripping aluminum sidings, making the homes nearly worthless. They take doors, moldings, appliances and pulling the piping out with a sledge hammer. Putting the homes back together takes a lot of money and effort which is not worth it for buyers to purchase, leaving homes vacant for more crimes to occur. I have 2 dogs that I walk during odd hours. I cannot help it if I see something unusual and not stare. I should not get beaten up for being curious or not being able to walk my dogs when I want to in my own neighborhood.
This is also hard on low income families such as myself. My parents worked hard to earn a safe secured place for us. They moved us out of the ghetto and into a decent neighborhood to help us stay out of trouble. My family already has to stress on mortgage. Why should they need to stress on the influence of the community, when that was the reason for them moving out of the ghetto? This is why we should put a stand in a good community by starting a neighborhood watch program where we can prevent the problem before it occurs.
Sheriff Ted Mink ran into the same problem. He had a problem with foreclosed homes being left unattended for months. His community crime rate has also risen. Homes that are left for no one to watch are asking for unwanted people into the community. There has been reported incident where homeless person or runaway use the empty homes as shelter. There are also times when they attempt to rig wired to get power to the house. This is dangerous because the house could easily catch on fire. But worst, Sheriff Mink received a report about meth labs, and vandalism in the vacant foreclosed home. I would not want to live next to a home that has meth labs. To me that just mean that it’s an invitation for crack addicts to the neighborhood. When I think of crack attics I think of drugs dealer and prostitutes. I would not like to walk down a street to get my mail where this kind of behavior is promoted.
Unlike unwanted communities, having a neighborhood watch, community would know who exactly their neighbor is. That means some community enforces background checks, according to Sheriff Mink. Background checks are not overly invading privacy; they just ask simple questions of employment and who lives in the household.
Ms. Daniel, a banker in Desoto and residents say “neighborhood is suffering from an increased in burglaries, decline in community spirit and unity.” This is all due to foreclosures homes being vandalized. The community notices that if something is not glued down, squatters and looters are taking it. There have been reported incidents of burglaries breaking into houses and stealing appliances such as furnace and air conditioners out of yards to resale and make money for themselves. Whether they’re buying drugs or alcohol, it is very difficult to have a safe neighborhood without the community pitching in to catch these unwanted disturbances.
Market to sale homes is difficult as it is. By having a Neighborhood Watch Program, neighbors can pitch in, watch the empty homes and help out by cutting grass or planting flowers just to make homes more inviting. Helping foreclosed homes sell quickly would not only benefit the real-estate agent but also the home value and with home selling quickly looters and squatters won’t have the chance to invade.
One of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime and reduce fear is by starting a neighborhood watch program. It can reduce burglaries, robberies, crime, and strangers. With this program in place members not only learn how to secure their homes but watch out for each other’s property by reporting activities that raise their suspicions to the police and sheriffs.
A lot of times people are discouraged by starting a neighborhood watch because they feel as if their noisy neighbor is watching them constantly. There’s no privacy; all there is with this program is giving the permission for noisy neighbors to watch their every moves. This is not true. I personally was help by my neighbors who gave me a description of a man. He was wondering around in his car looking very suspicious. It turned out that this man was keeping a little notebook spotted by my neighbors, his note kept a record of which house has what car, where the car is usually park and time of day the car is available. That helped me to keep a close eye on the man description and my car. Police arrest the man thanks to my neighbors. Neighborhood watch programs are for incidents to be reported immediately. There are not enough police and sheriff to patrol all corners of the street. This is when neighborhood watch program comes in handy.
Sources:
Les, Christie. "Crime Scene: Foreclosure." CNNMoney.Com. 19 Nov. 2007. 7 July 2008 http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/16/real_estate/suprime_and_crime/.
Mink, Ted. "Foreclosed HOmes and Their Impact on Neighborhood." Apr. 2008. 7 July 2007 .
http://http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2006/02/06.html.
Appleton, Roy, and Jake Batsell. "DeSoto Neighborhood Hit Hard by Foreclosures." 29 Feb. 2008. The Dallas Morning News. 9 July 2008
Gridley, Clinton P. "Foreclosed Properties." 5 Mar. 2008. 5 July 2008 .
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