Hi Craig,
Hope all is well, really enjoying your blog. Please keep it up!
I live in a building on Greenleaf on the west side of Sheridan. (CAPS Beat 2423) We had a scare yesterday morning I want to relate to you.
An African-American man in his 30s, 5'10" , slender, wearing jeans, tshirt and a blue backpack walked up to the third floor back deck of our building at 9:20 yesterday morning. We don't know him, never saw him before.
The screen door was locked to the unit. The gentleman was surprised by my neighbor who lives in the unit (hearing a noise on the deck)and the guy started jabbering about "Is Dave and Maria still downstairs? I'm an old friend of theirs, I've been away for 3 years." The building was redone and occupied four years ago and the downstairs people have never been Dave and Maria.
We think he was casing the joint? Who the hell goes up people's back stairs?
Is this going on elsewhere in the 'hood? More importantly, where can I find crime stats on RP? Block by block? Is such a database in existence?
The main thing that is killing me is that the cops, when called and notified said "oh yeah, there have been a lot of burglaries lately in that neighborhood"!!?? The cops were really blase about the whole thing. I'm glad my neighbor hadn't gone to work yet, his wife was tending to their newborn on the far end of the unit.
Exactly three years ago, this same incident occurred when they first moved in and they were burgled two days later. Now they have an alarm system in.
Over the years, we've had things "lifted" from the back decks, they are not blocked or locked off from non-residents.
As a building, we were thinking about building an electric fence gate to block off our driveway which gives access to the back of the building. Some of us thought it would send a rude message to the neighborhood, but now we are re-thinking.
Thanks again,
Eric
7 comments:
My advice is to secure your yard. The police would say the same. unsecured yards are often tresspassed and worse. There are too many ne'er do-wells wandering around RP looking for an easy opportunity. They would rather take from someone else than get a job and be responsible adults. Protect yourself.
When we first bought our building, the yard was unsecured and people walked thru the property constantly. First thing we did was put a locked gate in the alley and that stopped. Now we see the condo building next door going thru the same thing. The gate they installed is the kind you can reach thru the bars and open from outside. You've got to love how lazy unemployed drug addicts are that they have to trespass thru private property instead of walking around the block. Got to get those drugs fast you know. Times a wasting.
Okay, I'm not being nice this morning.
I tried to be nice today with the nice post about the Taste Wine Shop opening up. Until I opened all the other e-mails after that one.
Here is one resource to look at; but I am not sure it is totally accurate and up-to-date:
http://www.chicagocrime.org/streets/
Craig it looks like there's another Rebecca out there...
Rebecca R.
Burglaries usually seem to happen during the day when you're at work so the burglar won't have to run into you. Consult a security expert who knows the neighborhood on the best methods and cost efficiency. BTW, don't leave things like ladders, tools or anything else that the burglar can use to break in.
I recently signed a lease on an apartment between Morse and Lunt on Greenview. I saw the place liked it, thought the neighborhood was nice enough. I was told that it was a good neighborhood. I have now read all of your blog postings and comments and feel like I am entering a war zone. Am I making a mistake by moving where I am?
I am a student at Loyola University in Rogers Park and frankly, I do not think it is a safe place. My roommate at the beginning of the year was robbed at gunpoint, and I get an e-mail from campus safety at least once a week about a robbery, even group robberies. I never go anywhere at night, especially by myself, I actually don't feel comfortable ever going out by myself. My friends feel the same way. It is not a safe place to be. I was told by the university that this was a safe neighborhood, I definitely feel so lied to, which is awful considering what the cost of tuition is to go to school there.
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