Deter burglars with flower power
Filed under: Home, Real Estate, Fraud
In Tokyo, it's called "Operation Flower." I, too, have observed the phenomenon: Pretty flowers deter crime. And in Suginami City, a district of Tokyo, there's pretty amazing data to back up the theories.
After a shameful year of break-ins in 2002 -- 1,710 in an area with a population of about 528,000 -- someone recognized that streets with more flowers had less crime.
The city began a campaign, encouraging volunteers to plant flower seeds in front of their houses, and tending them. The results stunned: Down 80% by 2008, to 390 total break-ins.
The theory is that with residents spending more time outside planting, weeding and watering their flowers, there are more people to keep an eye out for suspicious activity, deterring criminals.
I suspect it's a little bit of that, but more of this: With people outside tending to flowers, potential criminals put a face on the property. Instead of seeing the residence for its potential dollar value, the home is seen as that place with the nice woman who waves while she weeds.
And another thing: Well-tended gardens are lovely and demonstrate the care someone has taken over the home. When you respect your property, others will respect it, too.
Since we have fixed up our front yard, installing a friendly fence and lots of fruit, vegetable and herb plants, our property crime has gone to zero; and we lost a few bikes and a jogging stroller to criminals before the transformation.
The more people on the street who tend their gardens, the less crime we all have. Beauty and care begets respect; even from the criminal element.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-28-2009 @ 11:31PM
Ashram said...
Ladies and gentlemen, this article is a bunch of nonsense. For one thing, this is a project that is taking place in Japan. There are some rather major differences between Japanese society and most Western societies, aside from the fact that Japan has some of the lowest incidences of crime in the world to begin with. Those points alone negates the claims of the article. In Western societies, robbers respect well-kept property about as much as a woodpecker respects the sanctity of life of a worm. The only times a robber is deterred is if breaking into the property is too risky for the gains, such as encountering an armed homeowner and/or if there are security countermeasures on the property that make breaking into the home without attracting unwanted attention too difficult.
If there is respect from a robber, its how much that robber can get from the property. Ironically, in Western societies, a well-kept piece of property can have the opposite effect; to a robber, a property that is kept up suggests that what's possibly inside may be worth breaking into the house to steal! A property not maintained can suggest that what's inside may not be worth breaking into.
Truth be told, there are robbers who do not care if there is a face on the property. What makes it worse is if the robber is doing it to fund a drug habit; a robber in withdrawal does not care one iota about the condition of the property, just stealing to get money to get drugs to settle the urge.
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8-17-2009 @ 1:09PM
robert dimond said...
My aunt Dolores was always afraid of home invaders. Her fear was not without cause; she came home from church once to the horrifying sight of all of her furniture and belongings “tossed” and broken. While the thieves didn’t take much, the damage to her nerves and her confidence was immeasurable.
Dolores was a widow; her two children were grown and lived on the other side of the country. She loved where she lived, was active in many local charitable organizations and she had many great friends. So she had no desire to uproot. She would just like to find a way to feel safer.
Unfortunately, Dolores did not have a lot of money and was not prepared to dole out a sizable amount for an expensive home protection system. She had been advised by a number of friends to get a dog that could be a source of protection. The problem with that is that she simply did not like dogs. And even if she did, the idea of taking a dog out two or three times a day for walks just did not appeal to her.
One evening Dolores was invited to have dinner at the home of a couple she had met at one of the clubs of which she was a member. She was walking up to their front gate after parking her car when she suddenly was startled by the barking sounds that obviously was coming from a large, angry dog. She stood there, not knowing what to do when the barking stopped.
Thankful that the couple had put their dog away for the evening, she entered the home with a sigh of relief. It was a lovely evening of dinner and great conversation. But as she was getting ready to leave she was just so curious she had to comment, “that must be a very good dog you have to be put away for the evening and not make a sound. I must admit I was a bit wary of coming in after the scare he gave me before I came through your front gate.”
The host and hostess looked at one another with guilty smiles on their faces and the husband said, “I guess we should tell you our secret. Our watchdog is not really a dog. He is a machine.” Dolores was confused and still curious and the host said, “wait right here and I will show you ‘Rover.’”
He returned to the room with ‘Rover.’ The “dog” fit comfortably into the palm of one hand. It was an electronic watchdog, a small device that works as an electronic alarm system. It mimics the sounds of a ferocious dog when an intruder comes within 22 feet of it.
“You’re welcome to pet it if you like,” my host joked. “It won’t bite.” The electronic watchdog’s bark is certainly far greater than its bite. But the bark is enough to scare away a would-be thief.
He explained that the device uses an electronic radar-wave sense control which allows it to “see through” wood, cement, brick, glass, virtually anything. It is powered by an AC power supply, so there is no need for batteries and no worry about batteries running out of power. “And the great thing is,” he told Dolores, “you can get the electronic watchdog for under $100.”
Her friends also told my aunt that you can change the sound on the electronic watchdog from an angry and protective dog to soothing rainforest sounds to announce visitors. Or you can choose among sounds of birds, frogs and waterfalls. The soothing sounds can be played at any time.
Before leaving, Dolores asked her friends how to find the electronic watchdog. They told her to go to www.yoursecurityandsafety.com/electronicwatchdog.htm
Now Dolores feels secure and she has a dog she does not have to walk.
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