When I was growing up in Cloverdale in the sixties nobody locked the doors to their houses, whether they were home or out. Except maybe for extended periods for vacations. In fact people used to leave their keys in the cars. Cloverdale had such a low crime rate and everyone knew everyone else who lived on the street so strangers stood out.
We had a St Bernard dog when I was a kid. She was usually inside the house. One day in 1968 or 1969 she let a burglar come inside who stole the car keys to the VW Beetle. He needn't have bothered because when he returned that night to steal the car the keys were already left in the ignition by one of my parents. Tina may have been a big dog but not scary enough to keep intruders away. The car was located a day or two later undamaged.
The next time a vehicle was stolen was in 1978. My brother left the keys to the truck in the ignition. This was a crew cab GMC. It was found in the Nicomekl River on 192 Street early the next morning. We didn't know it was gone until the police officer knocked on the door around six o'clock and woke us up. Considerable damage was done to the truck. The windows were smashed out and the tires slashed before the thieves pushed it off the road down the bank into the river. Its one thing to go for a joy ride but what's the point in vandalizing it? The insurance fixed the truck. My father kept it for a couple more years before trading it in for a new one.
Cloverdale has generally been a town of small time crimes such as burglaries rather than crimes of violence that have plagued other parts of Surrey such as Whalley and Newton.
We've had our vehicles broken into countless times and attempted theft of them. Fortunately for kill switches no one has yet to steal one of our cars. But there have been plenty of vandalism and stolen stereo equipment. We've also had items stolen from around the house. Husband's fault for leaving his tools lying around, though out of sight in the back. Someone had to physically put themselves into our back yard to see it and steal it. I interrupted a thief just after six one morning when I was taking the garbage out. I also brought a dog outside with me and was talking to it. I didn't see the thief in the truck, nor standing outside the truck when he exited - he must have been ducking down. But I saw a man running down the street who jumped in a truck and sped off. I thought nothing of it because the truck was parked in front of a contractor's house and its normal to see several trucks and men there in the morning. An hour later we discovered the truck's window had been smashed in and the ignition smashed while the thief tried to steal it. He left behind on the passenger seat his baseball cap, his screwdriver, and his hammer. Oddly enough the cops caught him shortly afterward as he was stealing a bait car nearby but they couldn't charge him with our truck's vandalism because I couldn't identify him.
One of the first things we did when we moved into this house was have an alarm system installed. Cloverdale has come a long way in crime and keeping your property secure. We never leave the house without turning it on and we also have the alarm set at night while we're sleeping. So far no problems with anyone trying to get into the house. Our two dogs might also be a deterrent.
Today while I was bringing my saddle and other riding gear out to the car I noticed a black car across the street, engine running, two men inside. A little odd and I kept an eye on them. On one of my trips out to the car my neighbor drove up and I went to the street to talk to her and we discussed who and what were those men doing. I said I'll go to the other side of her car and pat the dogs and tell her the license number of the car. She wrote it down and I went into the house and called the police to report the suspicious vehicle. The dispatcher typed in the information and then told me I had nothing to worry about at all on this car. I took that as code that it was a police vehicle.
Later I was at the neighbor's and the woman of the house also had spotted them and went over and knocked on the window and asked if she could help them or if they needed directions. They told her they were waiting for someone. She continued talking and one of them flashed a badge at her. She told them she'd taken down their license number and then left.
Blockwatch, crimewatch is alive and well in Cloverdale.
