November/December  2010

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR CRIME WATCH!

Our paper distribution is limited. If you would like to receive our newsletters via email, or if you would like to help by passing out the newsletter each month on your block, let us know. Paypal and our new web link, is now up and available.

With the holidays around the corner, keep in mind that contributors can send us their vacation schedules and we will share this with our patrol officers to check and pay added attention to your home, during their scheduled shifts.

Be vigilant of your surroundings; report any unusual or suspicious activities to 911, asking for the expediter unit. Break down boxes for  purchases such as Laptops and flat screen TVs so that it is not obvious you just bought one. You can take it one step farther by hauling off the boxes so they are not in your recycle. Lock up and store all valuables out of sight.  Watch out for each other, by maintaining a block buddy system so you know someone is there to help look out for you. My aunt, before she passed, had a system with her neighbor who was much younger.  She would raise her kitchen window curtain each day by a certain time and this meant she was ok and got up that morning. It was her neighbor who alerted the family the day that curtain was not raised. Aunt Sally died peacefully in her sleep at 83.

The Broken Window: Passing along a neighborhood street, you notice a vacant house with a broken window. Later you pass by again and now see a second broken window. You think, boy, this is getting to look worse for the neighborhood, but you let it go, being busy with your own plans and schedule. Later, there is a third broken window on that poor empty house, and then a fourth. Nothing is said, nothing is done and next you notice graffiti appearing on that vacant house. Then you see someone who doesn’t own the property living in it at nights, camping out there and perhaps hiding from authorities, figuring no one is watching so it is a good place for them.  Thus begins a foothold of degradation and a great invitation to crime.

But what if somebody had repaired that window as soon as they noticed it broken?  Sort of like car repair, or taking care of our own health, things begin with one or two small issues and snowball, if we let it, out of control.  When we appear to care, when we talk to and know our neighbors, help when needed, alert our neighbors to something that may cause a problem later, thieves hear that message loudly and clearly and move on to another area where it might be easier for them to steal or vandalize. These are their homes, these are our friends and our neighbors and we take great care to preserve our environment.

With living together, comes some patience and tolerance inherent in accepting our various human flaws and personalities.  But as we reach for the strength to slow down this holiday season, to act for the common good of all who reside here, by being a great neighbor, we foster joy, peace and protection. May the holiday times ahead be filled with more joy, less stress, more peace, less strain, and the glorious fulfillment of the hopes we always bring with us into the coming New Year.  May you all have a heaping load of happy in your hearts. Happy Holidays!

Make checks out to JHCW and mail to the PO Box above. The suggested donation is $30.00 per month/$360 annually, but whether you pay $10.00 monthly or $500 annually, we appreciate, and can really use, the support.  Thank you.