When Neighborhood Kids go Awry

One thing about city living is that people are going to have to live in close proximity to each other. That means neighbors. Most of the time urban residents have very little problems with their neighbors. Most don’t even know their neighbors for that matter. But occasionally, there’s a neighbor or two who can make community living a little frustrating. Often that problem starts and ends with neighborhood kids out of control, and with no proof, there’s no way of getting the parents participation in stopping the problem.

David Field lived in a neighborhood with "what you could call neighborhood hoodlums," as he called them. There were two of them, two brothers. "They would knock over trashcans, egg houses, and just cause all kinds of problems," David said. He then adds that "nobody could prove it, so there was nothing we could do."

David’s neighborhood was already a little edgy because, not long ago, one of his neighbors was murdered. The neighbor lived just two houses down from him, "and ever since then the neighborhood just hasn't felt the same." Then a couple weeks after the murder, Dave’s friend's car was stolen. Naturally these events cause fear and trepidation in any normal human being whose life and property may be threatened. So David took the proactive approach. He purchased the XCam2 with the VCR Commander kit, and placed one of the cameras outside his window to monitor the front yard. Then he set up a HawkEye motion sensor out near the bushes so that anytime someone walked by the house or the street after he went to bed, they would be recorded. "We have a bright light that turns on when somebody walks by our house, so the XCam2 can see fairly decently," David says. Then he adds, "I felt so secure with the XCam2 watching the front yard at night I slept great for a while."

One morning David woke up to get the paper and noticed that his garage door and front porch had been egged. "I couldn’t believe it!" But David had only to watch about an hour of the tape before he saw the two boys, in his words, "doing their scandalous deeds to our house!" Another example of the XCam2 catching someone "right in the act."

"I took the tape to their parent’s house and showed them the video," David says. "Their parents were shocked! They were forced to clean up all the eggs they had thrown that night." Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they were also required to do some yard work and odd jobs around the house for about a month. "It was great," David says. "XCam2 made my neighborhood feel safer, and more like home. Thanks X10!"

David is proof that neighborhoods can be made safer, and that not every criminal is going to get away with their crimes, thanks to X10. David left us with the statement "I just recently ordered 2 XCam2 WideEyes, with two battery packs." David’s ready. Whatever may come, he’s ready.

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