Police Blotter Tells Us The Story

In my daily paper there is a page called the Police Blotter that lists the crimes in my area.  I read this to give me an idea of what's going on crime-wise in my neighborhood, as in: Are there any trends?  Are home burglaries on the rise? Are purse-snatchings increasing? Are car thieves having a field day?

What always grabs my attention, though, is the number of property crimes with unforced entries.  People who didn't bother to lock their doors or widows in their homes or cars are amazingly plentiful. 

Why give thieves a helping hand?

Ok, I'll cut some of them some slack.  December is free-air-conditioning month in South Florida.  So, yes, I understand a little.  However, I have a hard time understanding people who leave their cars unlocked.  

The feelings you have knowing someone has been in your house or car, going through your stuff and taking your things is extremely traumatic. The easiest way to prevent that experience is to lock your doors and windows.  You say, "duh,"  but I'm telling you, my police blotter has unforced entries daily.

These days, even modest homes have alarms with monitoring services.  If you can afford it, they are worth every penny.  If you can't afford a monitored home alarm or you don't want to bother having one installed there is another option.  

MACE, a trusted  U.S. company, makes a great product called the Mace Wireless Home Security System.  For less than $140 you can protect your house, apartment, condo or place of business reasonably well.

The system does the same as any other professional home alarm, but instead of calling a monitoring company, it will call up to five numbers you program yourself.  It's wireless, so if you can hang a picture , you can install this system.

Still too pricey?  I understand.  Get the stripped-down version of the Mace system called the AUTODIALER.  For $40 you get a motion detector that dials five preset numbers that you choose.

I don't want anyone to experience the trauma of being burglarized.  So, try to remember to lock your doors and windows.  Go that extra step and try the Mace Wireless Home Security System or at least try the Autodialer.  These are small investments for huge peace of mind.

When is a stun gun not a stun gun?

The pedigree of the stun gun is the good old cattle prod.  

But this "touch-to-shock" technology would soon be popular with the military, law enforcement, airlines and even mail carriers.  Ironically, though called a stun gun these devices did not shoot anything,  which is precisely why these institutions were interested: no bullets flying around. 

In the early 1970s, entrepreneurs made the first mass-produced stun guns and marketed them to the public as self-defense weapons.  The technology for stun guns today is still "touch-to-shock."  In other words, for them to work, stun guns must physically contact the subjects.  Stun guns certainly do work, but you must be very close to your target.

Enter,  Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle, or TASER, whose pedigree is quite different than its stun-gun cousin.  The TASER was named and developed in 1969 by Jack Cover, a NASA researcher. 

The TASER fires two small dart electrodes attached to the gun by wires.  Then, a carefully designed series of electrical pulses brings down the subject long enough for you to flee.  

TASER International is the company that manufactures the TASER today and there are several models.  TASER made the C2 model specifically for Joe and Josephine Q. Public (civilians). It has a range of 15 feet.  

So, when is a stun gun not a stun gun?  Well, when it's a TASER.