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By Administrator, January 30, 2010 11:41 am

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

Continue reading '21 Things Your Burglar Won’t Tell You'»

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By Ken, January 28, 2010 11:36 am

Teen salespeople linked to crimes; employers elude law with shady tactics

San Mateo Daily News
January 28, 2010

BY WILL OREMUS
Daily News Staff Writer

At 5:39 p.m. on Jan. 6, on the 300 block of Louis Road, Palo Alto police arrested a 19-year-old woman from St. Clair Shores, Mich., who was selling magazines door-to-door. She had already been warned and cited for soliciting without a permit, a violation of Palo Alto’s municipal code.

So this time, the officers took her into custody and booked her into Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose.

It might sound like a harsh penalty just for selling magazines, but police Sgt. Wayne Benitez said the department is trying to send a message to the young woman’s employer.

Magazine solicitation, Benitez explained, isn’t always as benign as it sounds. In many cases the salespeople have been linked to other, more serious crimes. And often they’re victims of exploitation themselves, lured from troubled homes with promises of easy money by fly-bynight companies that treat them poorly and cut them loose if they don’t perform.

The problem isn’t new, but authorities in at least two Peninsula cities said it seems to be on the rise. As in Palo Alto, police in San Carlos said they’re starting to get tougher on offenders in hopes of stemming the practice.

Continue reading 'Palo Alto Going After “Magazine” Solicitors'»

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By Administrator, January 11, 2010 7:49 am

Neighbors to the east of White Oaks have also formed an organization:  Greater East San Carlos, or GESC.  This groups focuses on many of the same items as the White Oaks Neighborhood Organization, but also includes school issues and  parking problems.

This group is holding an emergency meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, January 12.