Oct/Nov 2020 Letter from the President - Security gates don't secure your home.

 Getting to know your neighbors is step one to securing your home

My wife and I moved here because we wanted our kids to grow up in a scenic, planned community and it was zoned to some of the best reputed schools in the area. We bought into this gated community are because it made both of us feel safe. Then someone “egged” our garage door almost as soon as we moved in and took our peace of mind. Me being me... I thought it was wrong for someone to instill fear in my family so I decided to track down the culprits myself. We connected to share information as needed with neighbors, the HOA and the authorities. They informed us that other families were also targeted that same night.

Three sets of parents were horrified that their tweenagers were involved but they were also honorable. We were offered and accepted sincere apologies so we chose not to press charges. Seasoned police detectives will tell you that it is usually going to be someone who feels comfortable. Someone you know. Someone in your peer group. Of course, the culprit could also have been someone random. Perhaps someone passing by saw a convenient opportunity that was not to be missed and targeted our home? This is why getting to know the neighbors helped me in my example but so did contacting the authorities.

Leveraging 24/7 technology is key to securing your home

Coordination w/ Law Enforcement and Surrounding Neighborhoods is a must when there is evidence of any crime. The Bexar County Sheriff’s office has recommended that home owners download the free Neighbors app to their smartphone (via iOS or Android here: https://download.ring.com/bexar) in order to join their digital neighborhood and use the app to: monitor neighborhood activity; share crime and safety-related videos, photos and text- based posts; and receive real-time safety alerts from your neighbors, local law enforcement and the Ring team.

Experts say that security should always be a default state and always on if it is to be effective. This approach requires cameras. Generally speaking, the facts are that community managed cameras in each vulnerable blindspot will save more money than they cost but they are still expensive. So are guards and patrols. When my family’s peace of mind was stolen, we called the guard patrol. It was not helpful for them to show up and offer to call the police after admitting that they had not seen anything or anyone walking around. That’s when I realized that one home owner installed and managed random camera at the front door or garage of our home was cheaper than guard patrols and much more effective for my family’s need to stop worrying that it could happen again or escalate.

Arguments against cameras center around the idea that a career criminal would never arrive in his own car and would wear a disguise and maybe even be armed. While that maybe true, hiring guards to man the front gates for a few hours a day is not helpful without cameras throughout the neighborhood. Think of it this way: when a guard patrol is cruising by my house or manning the gate, they are not watching yours because they cannot be in two places at one time without cameras. Best of all, modern cameras can be motion triggered and always on. This creates notification events that will help to alert you of suspicious activity near your home and help the HOA monitor our common areas VIA text messages. If you just don’t like cameras, well behaved dogs are as good if not better than state of the art messaging technology.

Let’s secure it all together now

We recently completed a survey that shows people tend to agree that Patrolling Crosstimber for only 4 hours a day costs $50K and doesn’t deter crime in a neighborhood of 650+ high dollar homes. Many different Crosstimber home owners have shared several problem scenarios:

• Guards who they rarely show up during an emergency.

• Guards who “help” the home owner call 911 but didn’t see a thing.

• Guards who are not here for 20 hours every day.

• Guards who take power naps.“I pulled into the North Gate entrance on 1/24/2020 at 8:30PM. I noticed our Security patrol truck parked on my left facing the exit with the guard inside and an interior light on. I quickly pulled over to the curb on my right and got out to thank him for his presence and inquire if I could get him a water or anything. I was a little afraid he might have a gun but then I noticed that he didn’t move as I approached and stood outside his window. I could see that he was busy playing “Candy Crush” on his phone before he fell asleep. As I moved toward the front of the car and looked back into the truck cab, he still didn’t move. I knocked loudly on the hood and I saw him jump and his eyes fly open. When he opened the door, I explained that it is harder to sleep if you are moving around.”

In conclusion, the intersection/layering of different forms of security is best so that home owners have no single point of failure:

• Guards who stay awake when they are here

• HOA managed cameras in each vulnerable community area blind spot

• Getting to know your neighbors

• One home owner installed random camera at the front door or garage of each home.

• One security alarm system

• One well behaved dog

• Using the free Neighbors App from Ring and Nextdoor to say something when you see something

• Joining the Security committee to come up with other innovative ways to improve security in the community.

PLEASE NOTE: The HOA can only manage/control the guards and cameras. The bottom six methods are actually the most effective and all of them are entirely up to you. There are problems with relying entirely on any one of the methods.