Community Alerts

Incidents in our Neighbourhood
{Aug 23 - Sep 10, 2010}, approx. 10 homes in the Woburn/Kindale/Dunkeld/Romfield area

• B&E, personal items within residences stolen
• Sep 2, 2010 - robbery @ BMO (Romfield Plaza)

{Dec. 22/23, 2008},

• 11W - B&E, personal items within residence stolen

{Nov. 30/31, 2008} sometime between midnight and 6 am,

• 14K - vandalization and theft, vehicles & garage (garage left open)
  
• 2K - theft from vehicle on driveway
  

Crime and vandalism have become common occurrences and too often a segment on the evening news or the front page of our newspapers. The reality is that no community is immune. While this should provoke an awareness in us all, this should NOT be a persistent fear in our lives. Please feel free to post any incidents that you believe your neighbours should know about. The Thornhill Liberal runs a listing of crimes in the community, but not all incidents get reported. While in most instances these incidents are random, there are some basic things that can be done to protect ourselves. These petty criminals tend to target the weakest, most penetrable or accessible places to prey. Common sense and awareness at a Community level are powerful deterrents. If you happen to see anything out of the ordinary in our neighbourhood, a call to the police may be warranted. If you are going away and leaving your home unattended, let your neighbours know so that they can take in your mail and just keep and eye out for you. Obviously getting to know and trust your neighbour is important. There used to be a formal Community Watch program in the Romfield Circle/Stornoway Public school area, primarily as a safety net for our children, but also to generally promote community safety and awareness. Even without a formal program, watching each others backs is always a good idea.
I do not profess to be a security expert but there are many articles on how to burglar-proof your home on the internet. As a starter here are two that you can read. One is from Readers Digest, the other from the Toronto Star
Readers Digest article:- http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2005/08/proof_home.php
The Toronto Star:- http://www.howtoadvice.com/HomeSecurity/
Home alarm systems, bullet-proof glass, better lock and door systems, and even dogs are all options that can be considered. But even the best security system is useless if it is not used effectively. An open door is an open door. Leaving your keys in the door, keeping the car running unattended, forgetting to close the garage, leaving keys or a wallet/purse by an open front door are all invitations to a thief. Arrested petty thieves will often recount that they tried several locked doors until they found an open one. Remember these people are typically looking for a quick and easy score, anything that will slow them up or make it difficult usually deters them to the next location.
If you are interested in some DIY home security products, there was a Consumer alert segment on CTV news within the last week where a few items were presented including a film that can be applied to your windows to make them tougher to break, a door frame reinforcement system and more secure locks.
Security window film (Armour Guard)

Armour Concepts LLC