If a person is looking in windows or acting suspiciously, that may be a reason to take notice or say something. If a person is just strolling down the street, different story. I've walked down many a different street, just for the change of scenery. If anyone asks who I am, they should first show me their badge.
Of course these day, I may be stopping for an ibuprophin break too.
If anyone ordered me out of the neighborhood when I was walking on a public right-of-way, I'd be back WITH the cops. In fact, if I carried a cell phone, and was in an area where they were likely to respond within an hour, I'd invite them to drop by right then. (Modulo the common-sense exception of never argue with somebody holding a shotgun, of course.)
I tell people not to leave their garage door opener remote in their car in plain view...open the overhead door and you're pretty much in since most people don't lock the door from garage into the house.
And of course when having your car serviced at a shop never give them anything but your car keys.
Bob Dylan ("Blowin' in the Wind") was moseying around the neighborhood adjacent to the baseball stadium in Lakewood, NJ where he was appearing in concert with John Mellencamp ("Freedom's Road") and Willie Nelson (IRS).
Local cops get a call at 5 p.m. that some aged, disheveled, possibly Communist, hippie is wandering around loose, scaring the folk.
Cop responds, asks Dylan for ID. Dylan doesn't have any.
Backup unit arrives.
Still no ID.
Dylan put in patrol car and whisked away.
Neighborhood folks relieved.
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Gee, I wish my neighborhood cops were that much on the ball.
"After news broke that music legend Bob Dylan was picked up by a New Jersey cop who failed to recognize him, President Barack Obama has invited the duo to the White House for what aides are calling a 'bong summit.' "
The neighborhood watch coordinator at the local police station said we should feel free to call them if anyone was walking around looking suspicious to us and he would send a guy with a badge to ask them who they were. I more prefer the friendly introduction and see what they have to say. It has never escalated to a confrontation but a few shady folks have gone away and not come back. If someone does look shady I might take a picture of them. If they come to my door I already have a picture, usually 2. One in the driveway and one at the door.
I always start out by introducing myself. Then the ball is in their court. Most people who are just out for a walk will end up talking longer than I want to be there and tell me more than I want to know about them. Beyond that it is simply profiling. Sue me
I live in a place so remote that NO ONE walks by. Anyone not in/on a vehicle would be suspect. Plus, since it's a narrow two-lane road, the thief would have to pull off onto the shoulder or into a driveway. Not exactly subtle. Still, no one out here locks much of anything unless you're going on vacation.
I live at the end of about half a mile of dirt road. That road turns in directions three right angles before you get to my place. On either side of that road is barbed wire grazing pastures. I like it out here. If anyone is on the road, they have to come to the front of the house. If anyone parks anywhere else, it's a red flag. It's all posted private property and no hunting. I can look from our little town up the hill and see 3/4 mile to my house and see if there is anybody at my house. If there is, there is no way for them to go anywhere except back down the road they came in on, and they'd have to get past me.
Last night, my neighbor was out in his orchard chasing deer away. He had one of those bright lights. I just called him on his cell, and verified who he was, and went back to bed. I have thousands of acres of public lands around me, most of if inaccessible because of lava fields and steep deep ravines. I get an occasional lost ATVer, the meter readers, UPS, FedEx, and some REALLY lost people, but that's it. Except for coyotes all night, kit foxes, eagles, red tails, quail, roadrunners, deer, dove, jack and cottontail rabbits, and all manner of birds. Did I say I love it out here?
For anyone, a nosy neighbor is about the best thing to have. After that, a mean looking dog, good lighting, and a lot of the measures mentioned in the original post. Living out in the middle of nowhere helps, too.
Two men parked on the vacant lot behind my house. They proceeded to break into my house. My neighbors saw them. She called 911, and he got his shotgun. He came over and apprehended one of the men who chose to lay down, the other ran off. Left his truck. Police came.
They had to huddle, because my neighbor was not on HIS property. They had to decide whether or not to arrest him. The supervisor took the pump shotgun and jacked all the shells on the ground and said, "We cannot arrest this man because the gun was not loaded." He did give my neighbor a strong talking to explaining about where his legal boundary was.
The one who ran off had long black hair and a beard. By the time the police found him through his DMV records, he was bald and shaven. Didn't match the description, so no arrest. The other one went up for a few years. They had burglarized several homes in the area, and some with people in them.
I can live with vigilantism when it comes to citizens actively protecting themselves. And BTW, yes, you can come for a walk on my lane. Bring your gun, too. We may just do some target shooting. That is, unless you come sneaking around at night,. Then bring your gun, and a thick copy of the Constitution and put it in the pocket in front of your heart, and have your bottomfeeder lawyer walk point for you.
If you want to come visit, yer welcome. If you want to test the waters, you may get wet.
Florida just changed their self defense law and extended the right to use deadly force to repel imminent threat to anywhere you have a legal right to be.
I always offered to bug not only the overhead garage door but also the interior door leading from the garage to the house. I'd put a longer delay on the roll-up door and a short delay on the inside door. We would install a keypad just inside the door to the house. I made it a selling point since most of our competitors didn't even bother protecting the roll-up door and those who did never bugged the inside one.
Perfectly legal, but I'd probably just cal you an asshole or similar. Good chance the second photo would be overexposed from the reflection of my bright white ass though.
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