Shortly before Christmas, a pair of thieves attempted a break in to rob a Whitmire woman. One of the thieves lured the woman away from her house under the pretext of talking to her about some nearby land he claimed was for sale. While his partner had their intended victim distracted, the second thief broke into her house.

It was a clever scheme and would have probably succeeded had it not been for a concerned neighbor.

The neighbor became concerned when he saw the second thief going into the woman’s house while she was outside talking to the first thief. He also noticed the thieves’ truck, a newer model vehicle with a North Carolina tag.

His suspicions raised, the neighbor went to see what the man who was talking to the woman wanted. Things got even more suspicious when, in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity, the first thief pulled his jacket hood over his head when the neighbor asked what he wanted. They got even more concerned when the thief told the neighbor he was there to talk about some land for sale near the woman’s home. The neighbor, however, knew better and told the thief there was no land for sale in the area.

Apparently realizing the game was up, the second thief ran out of the woman’s house and, with his partner, took off in their truck. Even though the second thief got in the woman’s house, he and his partner left empty-handed because the neighbor intervened. In addition to thwarting their scheme, the neighbor was able to give the Union County Sheriff’s Office the tag number on the thieves’ truck and a description of the first thief.

This is why a concerned neighbor is a criminal’s worst nightmare. Not only did the woman’s neighbor prevent her from being robbed, he was able to provide authorities with information that will increase their chances of catching those thieves. By caring enough to get involved, he was not only a concerned neighbor but a good neighbor, not only to the thieves’ intended victim, but to the rest who could just as easily have been their target.

Criminals don’t like attention, especially when they’re committing their crimes because it can land them in jail. A concerned neighbor who sees what he/she thinks is a crime being committed and acts on that concern, is the best kind of neighbor and a criminal’s worst enemy.

Being a neighbor concerned about crime doesn’t necessarily mean actually confronting criminals. In fact, it’s generally better not to confront them yourself, but to call the police and provide them with information about the perpetrators. Attention to detail, a note pad and pen and a cell phone are powerful weapons in the war on crime that can keep you and your neighbor safe while helping put criminals behind bars.

The safest neighborhoods are those in which neighbors are concerned to look out for each other and are unafraid to get involved when they see their neighbors falling victims to crime. Just the possibility that they might be spotted by a neighbor who’ll call 911 can make criminals think twice about breaking into someone’s home.

Crime is not just a problem for those who find themselves its victims. It is not just a problem for the police. It is a problem for every law-abiding citizen who wants to live in a neighborhood; in a community where they, their loved ones, their homes and their other property are safe. The only way we can live in such neighborhoods, in such communities is if we are all good neighbors concerned enough to be a criminal’s worst nightmare.