Quote from jgregory1975 on 07/14/09 at 12:14pm:I live on Shades Crest Rd close to the Alford Ave side and we were broken into on Friday sometime between 7am- 4pm. They busted in the back doors with a crowbar and they made out with tons of tools, electronics and jewelry. It is an absolute nightmare. I was also just infomed that another home on Shades Crest (closer to Hwy 150) was broken into yesterday and according to them there were SEVERAL break-ins yesterday in that area. Sounds like the same person.
My across the street neighbor noticed earlier in the week last week a man in a white truck who parked in their driveway and walked across the street to our yard and around the back and then came back and jumped in his car and drove away. He was not a meter reader. She said it was a plain white truck and he was white, brunette, in his 30's and skinny. Could be the criminal scoping houses out. I am just asking that EVERYONE be extra vigilent and if you see anything suspicious call the police!!!!
Thanks for the post. Sounds like the same white truck scoping out Albemarle when two houses there got hit.
Here's what we did about it:
We contacted Officer Brian Foreman of the Hoover Police Department. His e-mail address is foremanr@ci.hoover.al.us and his phone number is 444-7700. We asked Officer Foreman to set up a Neighborhood Watch meeting for our area. Officer Foreman made some fliers and sent them out to me. I distributed them to our neighbors, who also helped distribute some. We then met at the Bluff Park Police Sub-Station, next to Armor Safe Storage. The meeting, led by Officer Foreman, lasted about 90 minutes. In the meeting he outlined what a Neighborhood Watch group consists of, who's part of it, how to register for one, and the benefits of having one, among other things. Did you know that a Neighborhood Watch group is more effective than an alarm system? I sure didn't. Do you know why? You'll have to attend a meeting to find out. The only investment is your time. Everything else is covered by the police department.
Our block now has a Neighborhood Watch. Soon, all of my neighbors will have my information and I'll have theirs. Information that I want them to know, like what kind of cars I have, when I'll be home, who might be at my house when I'm not there, etc. This information stays within the Neighborhood Watch group, not outside of it. If something is happening at my house that doesn't look quite right, my neighbors will call the police. Even if it ends up being legit, the police is more than happy to respond. Did I mention this was free?
A while back we conducted a survey on this web site and we called it "What's holding you back from forming a Neighborhood Watch group?". The number one answer was fear of meeting the neighbors. Yes, you read it right. People are more afraid of saying hello to their neighbors than they are of taking a chance of someone breaking into their house! I must admit that I fell into that group also. It took me over two years before I got the courage to walk around the neighborhood to introduce myself and hand out a flyer (those of you who know me probably find that very hard to believe, but it's true). Guess what?! After meeting my neighbors, I found them to be rather nice! We even had something in common. We all were happy to live in Bluff Park and were willing to watch each other's houses. How to you like that?
So quit reading this post, send an e-mail to Officer Foreman at
foremanr@ci.hoover.al.us and tell him you'd like to have a Neighborhood Watch meeting. The Bluff Park Police Sub-Station seats about 10-12 people. If you find that you'll need more space, please contact Linda Williams at the Hoover Community School on Park Avenue at 439-2860. Mrs. Williams will be more than accommodating for your group. The fee to use the Community School for this type of meeting is...free. Yup, you're still not out any money.
If you want more information on the
Neighborhood Watch section of the BluffParkAl.org web site.
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