COMMON SENSE SOLUTION TO CRIME
Drug deals, robbery, burglary and murder. None are new to Savannah.
“The poor guy comes from a broken home. His mom is a single, working mother. His dad went to jail. He was exposed to lead paint when he was young. His landlord should not have rented to the family he was visiting when he killed them. The rental car company should have screened him better and he would not have been able to drive from the east side to the quiet south side neighborhood.”
Let’s all stop looking for excuses. Stop blaming other folks and dividing us. Residence, landlords, business owners, doctors, lawyers and even tenants are on the same side. We should unite and join our resources and hold the criminal accountable. The criminal is responsible, period.
Who am I to speak on crime solutions?
My father was murdered 54 years ago in down town Savannah, in the 1960s. Our family owned coin operated laundry businesses that were repeatedly burglarized in the 1960s and 1070s. I was robbed at knife point in the 1970s. My car were burglarized twice and on another occasion my car was stolen in the 1980s. In the 1990s and 2000s my rental properties were vandalized and burglarized. In the mid 2000s I was the victim of was embezzlement and I was swindled. Crime is not new to me.
I am a lawyer and I worked in law enforcement when I was in college. My brother was a police officer for over 30 years. My best friend was a homicide detective. Crime? We are familiar.
Here are four examples of crime solutions that have worked.
1) Rio Road was experiencing thefts from mail boxes; a federal offense. The thugs were getting credit card applications out of the mail and applying for cards in the residence name. My brother equipped a vehicle with dark tinted windows and a video camera with night vision. The thugs returned, they were recorded and their license plate was captured. The police located them and arrested them. End of thugs.
2) We owned a home in Windsor Forest. Thugs would cross the golf course each night and break in and vandalize our house. After call police, filing a report and frequent “checking on the house” we decide to try a different solution. We put up cameras. Not wanting their faces videoed, the thugs never returned.
3) Local investor purchased a large mobile home park. It was overrun with drug dealers, prostitutes and thugs. 80 police calls were the average number of calls in a month. 3 cameras were installed covering all the exits to video all cars and license plates that enter or exit. Police calls now are around 5 per month for arguing spouses.
4) We owned some large dumpsters. On a daily basis people were illegally dumping trash and furniture costing us $1000s per month. We installed surveillance cameras. Now the illegal dumping is way down and every violator is videoed and we contact them to collect a large fine.
Our cameras are viewable from anywhere over the Internet 24/7 and are saved for 90 to 120 days.
In all four examples, the proof was undisputable. No one had to be a vigilante; no one was injured or shot.
The solution to crime is simple. Document it.
A video will allow: 1) a landlord to evict; 2) Police to arrest; 3) Juries to convict; 4) Judges to sentence; and 5) Parole boards to deny early release.
The solution is easy.
Most security companies can install cameras at your home and business for a reasonable price. Sam Stores sell home surveillance kits. You can buy a video camera at any department store for under $100.00; and most cell phones will take pictures or video.
When the word gets out the thugs will leave.
Make it a Great day!
Howard Spiva
