Safety in Our Community

By now I am sure that everyone has heard about the robbery that occurred last week at the ATM in our neighborhood. A young lady had stopped at the WAMU ATM around 8pm and was greeted by a man with a gun - not exactly what one would expect from the ATM! All reports indicate that she escaped unharmed and that the police chased the bad guy but did not get him - :(

So let's have a very upfront discussion about fighting crime in our neighborhood. Despite having a police sub station at the end of our neighborhood and VERY active neighborhood patrols we continue to have crime and violence - I'm afraid it has just become part of the social fabric in this world. But I have an idea of how to head off some of the crime....

I am not a crime fighting expert nor do I play one on TV so this is just one guy's opinion about fighting crime. My prescription? I think we should all slow down.

Slow down when driving in our neighborhood and in area shopping centers. Slow down and look around. Look down alleys. Look at neighbors front doors. Look in store windows and drive thrus. Slow down and inspect everything you see. You know this neighborhood. You know when something does not look right. And when you see something, do NOT investigate further, call 911 and report it. Do NOT become a vigilante - become a reporter. We are all in a hurry, we are always running late and the bad guys count on this. They count on us being distracted or rushing to our next appointment. They count on us not slowing down.

Next time you enjoy a wonderful meal at the cafe take a little stroll down and look in our windows at T. Hee - look in and see if everything looks okay. Gaze into the barber shop - across at the bank and florist. Drive through the shopping center slowly and look around, keep your eyes wide open as you drive through your neighborhood. Once home put Fido on a leash and take a quick walk around the neighborhood - ask your neighbors to join you. The more activity there is, the fewer opportunities there are for bad stuff to happen.

Now let's talk about lights. Do you burn a porch light at night? Go to your local hardware store and buy an energy efficient light bulb and turn it on every night before you go to bed. Light up your neighborhood so the bad guys have fewer shaddows in which to hide. Light up your home so those who are driving by slowly can see if there is anyone lurking around. Our landlord has just invested alot of money to improve the lighting in our center - you'll find brighter lights and fewer dark spots where the boogey man can hang out. Make sure your home and your block gets the same attention.

Lake Highlands is definitely the grooviest gathering of neighbors I have ever experienced. If any one neighborhood can wipe out crime - I am certain that this is the one. Just light up and slow down....that's my prescription.