No neighborhood is free of crime and Greenwood is no exception. Last month we had a couple break-ins*. One happened at night and one happened in broad daylight.

According to the police, for a home to be hit during the day, most likely the house was watched before they broke in. Criminals look for patterns when targeting a home. If you use timers for lights, try to vary them from room to room and vary the times. One of the easiest ways to keep the criminals from detecting a pattern is to leave your lights on all the time, in the front and in the back. Keeping your lights always on will not only prevent a pattern but can also reduces the atmosphere for crime by providing a lot more light on the street and around your home. If everyone participates, the illumination provided by all the additional lights will make a difference.

If you are concerned of the costs associated with leaving the lights on all the time, you can switch to energy saving light bulbs. The energy saving light bulbs cost a little more than regular light bulbs, but over the life of a single bulb, according to online reports, you will save about $30 in energy costs. Also, the energy saving bulbs last 10 times longer than the traditional light bulbs.

*Only 2 break-ins were reported to the NWC, there could have been others that were not reported to the committee. Please report any criminal activity in the neighborhood to the Greenwood NWC by sending an email to greenwoodnwc@gmail.com.