“Todd”

“Todd”

The papers and media report that crime is down at its lowest rate in years. The president says its due to his accomplishments and the efforts of intense law enforcement efforts. Part of this is true, the intense efforts of law enforcement. Is crime really down? Ask a cop in your city. If crime really is down good for you. But it could just be a smokescreen too. Crime could be down on paper but not down on the streets. For the real story on why a lot of cities show a decline in crime see the article in our archives about how some crimes are reported to the DOJ. Call a dog a frog and you have fewer dogs reported running around. Call an airplane crash a train wreck and you have fewer reported plane crashes. You get the drift. I already got my frustrations out in the previous article “Is crime really down” so I wont go into that now.

What I will go into here is not letting your guard down with all this hype about crime rates being down. Is it really down? Ask the parents who just had their daughter kidnapped off a busy street in broad daylight. Luckily, the child escaped from the suspect’s vehicle after several days of being shackled to the seat. Ask the relatives of the four meat inspectors who were recently gunned down by an irate business owner who took his frustrations out on people just doing their jobs. Three were killed and one escaped. Ask the young clerks at several local business who have guns stuck to their heads and are forced to undress during armed robberies. Ask the relatives of the five people who were murdered, chopped up, and stuffed into duffel bags then thrown in the Delta. Two of the murdered people were an elderly couple just trying to enjoy retirement. Ask the woman who was walking home from work last night and dragged off the street into a field and raped by an unknown suspect (who is still out there). All of these crimes were in recent weeks and within miles of my County alone. And I could type for days without making a dent in the crimes that occur daily around us.

Is my County considered a violent County? No, chances are, it’s just like yours. What I’m trying to say is that crime is everywhere. You just don’t hear about it unless it makes headlines. You wont hear about all the vandalism, burglaries, thefts, shoplifting, assaults, robberies, stolen cars, carjackings, sexual assaults, molestation’s, etc etc etc unless it headline worthy. Some crime may actually be down but a lot of it is on the rise. Don’t let your guard down, we can’t rename our towns Mayberry RFD just yet.

I just drove around with a burglar yesterday after he was arrested. (I’ll call him Todd). He pointed out houses to us that he broke into for drug money. Some houses that he pointed out to us hadn’t even been reported to the police yet. After Todd pointed out the houses, I turned off the tape recorder and asked him “off the record, what makes you go to one house over another house?” “What makes one person a victim over another?” His response? “Easy pickings”.

Todd explained that he was basically homeless because he stole from all his relatives and friends and wasn’t welcome anymore. He said that how often he breaks into homes depends on how desperate he becomes for drugs. If he is “down and out”, he goes on a spree to get drug money. Todd said that he used to be a hard worker with a full-time job but drugs really screwed him up, and this was the only quick way he knew how to get drug money.

Todd went on to explain that as he wanders a neighborhood, he’ll keep an eye out for people watching him. If he notices that people are watching him, he goes to another neighborhood. He’d walk up to the front door of a house and ring the doorbell. If someone answered he’d ask for a glass of water or say he must have the wrong house. If he got no answer, he’d try the doorknob. If it opened, he would walk in. If it were locked, he’d try a window or a back door. Once inside, he’d take money, checks, alcohol and small items. Small things he could conceal without being noticed. You know what Todd said attracted him to enter certain houses over another? Alcohol bottles in plain view on countertops. He’d enter a house just to get the alcohol he saw through the kitchen window. Todd pointed out 5 houses he broke into within a one-day period and several other houses that he went into just to sleep or to “relax on their back deck”.

As we drove down a street I stopped and asked Todd “if you were walking down this street and wanted to make some quick money, which house would you hit?” He first looked around to see if anyone was outside then he pointed out two houses with garage doors open. Todd said he’d walk up to the garage to see if anyone was inside. If there were a person or a dog inside, he’d move on. If no one were around, he’d walk in and take whatever there was of any value. Tools, fishing reels, alcohol, cigarettes, maybe even a lawnmower if he was hard up. If it seemed no one was home, he’d try the interior door to the house. Know what Todd said? 7 out of 10 times he finds the inside garage doors unlocked and alarms not set. 7 out of 10 times!

We drove on and Todd pointed out houses with thick shrubbery next to a side door or window that would conceal him trying to enter a house. Todd pointed out side fences and gates that were either in poor repair or left open which would give him easy access to a yard. Todd said, “walking into a yard draws lots less attention than jumping over a fence”. Todd even pointed to doghouses or ladders next to a wall that could provide easy access to an upper story. Todd said that during the summer, almost every house has an upstairs window unlocked or ajar. If he could gain easy access to a 2nd story, he’d go for it. As Todd put it; “it doesn’t matter to me how I get in, as long as it’s easy and doesn’t make noise”. I asked Todd what the biggest deterrents were and he said “Witnesses, dogs, and alarms”.

I already knew about most of the things that Todd was telling me but it was fascinating to hear a burglar openly tell me “what he looks for” when choosing a victim. What makes him pass your house up for a neighbor’s house. Todd wasn’t a hardcore burglar that broke windows or kicked in doors to get in. Todd didn’t tale TV’s, VCR’s, or load up all your worldly possessions in your car and drive away. Todd looked for “Easy Pickings”, in his own words. Open garage doors, unlocked doors or windows, items of value (or necessity such as alcohol) in plain view, easy access that wouldn’t draw attention to himself, and the most important one; LACK OF CARING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD! The first thing Todd said he looked for was people. Neighbors who watched him. If he was watched, he left. Simple as that. If no one bothered to notice him or no one was around, he went to work finding a house to get into.

I thanked Todd for being so open and honest with me and off he went to jail. He’ll spend several months or more in jail visiting old friends, getting free medical and dental treatment, 3 meals a day, television, a bed to sleep in out of the heat or rain. For a homeless “down and out” junkie, is this really a punishment? Todd actually looked forward to going to jail. He said he’d get cleaned up and straightened up, and he wouldn’t have to wander the streets wondering where to sleep or how to get food.
Todd figured he’d get rehab while in jail and try to go drug free but he said honestly that the first day he got out of jail, he’d probably get “high as a kite”. And the cycle would start all over again.

Jim wrote an article in our book “CopTalk” explaining how the “Criminal Justice System” works, or as Jim says, how it doesn’t work. Todd is a prime example how the Criminal Justice System is just a revolving door for criminals. It’s a great article but that’s another topic. You’ll just have to get our book to read it.

To sum it up and keep “Todds” out of your house, use common sense and safety tips.

• Keep doors and windows locked when you’re away and use your alarm system if you have one. I go to lots of burglaries where people leave their garage doors open or alarms off saying, “I was only gone a few minutes”. A few minutes is all it takes for “Todd” to make you a victim.

• If your not going to be in your garage, close the door. “Todd” could take lots of valuables from your garage while you’re inside the house watching TV or eating dinner. Even leaving the door open a little for cats is dangerous. In our book I tell how a thief rigged up a device and got my neighbors garage door open in the middle of the night even though it was open just a few inches. (got a cat?, install a cat-door)

• Don’t keep valuables such as wallets, purses, jewelry, etc in plain view while you’re away. Even alcohol left in plain view could draw a “Todd” into your house. Close your blinds when your away, an empty house is easy to spot through open windows.

• Trim back shrubbery that blocks views to windows or doors. A burglar could take his time breaking into a house if he is concealed by shrubbery. Don’t leave ladders leaning against a wall or in plain view. A thief is just as likely to enter an upstairs window as a downstairs window if the opportunity is there.

• If you like to leave windows or a sliding glass door open for ventilation, buy locks from your local hardware store. There are locks that let you leave windows or doors ajar but they are still locked so no one can get in.

• If you see a strange person in your neighborhood, call the police. We’d rather check him out at the time than to write 5 burglary or theft reports the next day. Remember what Todd said, if someone looked like they were watching him, he’d go to another street. Save yourself and your neighbors from unnecessary losses or problems, call the police for suspicious subjects. Don’t just let it be “someone else’s problem”.

• Keep side gates locked and fences in good repair. Seeing someone jump over a fence draws lots more attention than seeing someone walk through a gate. And burglars don’t tike to draw attention to themselves.

• Call your local police or Sheriffs department to form a neighborhood watch program. Or at least get to know some of your neighbors so they will recognize suspicious activity at your house if they see it.

Remember Todd’s favorite houses to hit…. Easy Pickings. And don’t forget there are burglars out there that aren’t as “mild” as Todd. The ones that will break windows and doors to get in. The one that will load up your car and disappear with everything you own.

If you take precautions and follow common safety tips, you can keep yourself from becoming one of “Todd’s” victims.

Be aware and be safe,
The NetCops staff