In the 7000 block of Midbury, a Volvo SUV sat parked and locked in the home’s circular drive. But sometime between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. this morning, thieves smashed the car window and stole a computer, along with some prescription eye glasses.
The car belonged to the homeowner’s son who was visiting; another car also parked in the circular drive sat untouched.
Our neighborhoods, with their active crime watch groups, are usually pretty vigilant about crime prevention. But this is a good reminder to neighbors to ensure that visitors hide or remove valuable items from their cars. After all, looks can be deceiving. Hillcrest Forest is a nice neighborhood. In fact, the Dallas Morning News last year named it the no. 1 best neighborhood in the city. But that doesn’t make it immune to crime.
This past summer, the Preston Hollow area experienced a rash of incidents, including cat burglaries, that causes North Central Police Chief Rick Watson to step up patrols (both covert and overt).
In many cases, home alarm systems have proven invaluable to scaring off criminals. That reminds me of a meeting I attended several years ago in which neighbors heard from a career burglar responsible for more than 850 burglaries in North Texas. He shared his inside tips on how he did it. For example, if done right, criminals can enter and leave a house with everything they need in under six minutes.
