[philmason]

I figured I'd throw this out there since many people on this board ask questions about LV crime. I moved here about 6 weeks ago and have been living in an apartment in the 9000 block of W Charleston. I've been doing house shopping and one of the criteria that I've been up in the air about is whether to live in a guard gated / gated / non gated community. Up until now I've been fairly open to any of the three, as I don't feel the crime statistics really warrant much concern.

Last night my F150 was broken into (driver window smashed) and they tore out my center console and took a DVD / navigation multiscreen device that was installed in the dash. They also grabbed a radar detector. They did a bunch of extra damage in the process, probably the most frustrating thing about it. The broken glass had cut into my leather seats from where the thief was probably sitting and working on taking the stuff out.

The whole event really surprises me. I'm living in an apartment complex (Palms at peccole ranch) and its very populated. There are apartments literally facing the area where my truck was parked, so whoever did this had balls of steel. I'm out very frequently walking my dog at various hours of the night and there are always people awake and on goofy schedules.

Anyway, I think the event probably encourages me to put more value on guard gated communities. The big turn off was the extra monthly fees (the guard adds about $175-200 to the monthly HOA fee), but now I feel its a price perhaps worth paying. I think the standard gated communities are probably not much safer than non gated areas, car thieves have no problem getting access to them.

[macgeek]

I am sorry that this happened, but I have to tell you a gated / guarded area is no more secure then a open area, a person can walk into the area, and rob your car.

Crime happens everywhere.

I live on a private block, in a quiet section of brooklyn.
in front of my own house at 3:30 in the afternoon my car window was smashed
and my GPS system was stolen.

It doesn't matter, just fix the damage and get back to life.

its only money



Jonathan

[bayview6]

That's a bummer!! I recently bought a house in a gated community although I could have selected a guard gate one for an addition $120 a month. I think that the main factor for predicting crime in the LV Valley is the closeness to apartments and section 8 housing. I would try to find a gated community and get a place with a garage. If you are several miles from apartments and section 8 housing probably the crime in your subdivision will be low. Just my 2 cents.

[jhiker1o]

Sorry to disappoint you but half the city are renters, they are all over the valley and not just in apts. Same with Section 8 housing. My sister's Honda Accord got stolen from home, she lives in a 4bedroom house in the 89129 Zip code. Her next door neighbor are renters and strangely enough these same people warned me there are people keeping an eye on my sister's car. How could have they known?? Sure enough it got stolen at a later time. To this day I cannot stand these people living next door to my family. Their front yard is a mess and they do not care about how the property looks like. Low class thrashy people.

[AA702]

Best thing to do is to garage your car. Also put everything of value out of sight!

[Prosze]

Yes we never leave our cars parked in our driveway.

I live in Peccole & haven't had any problems. In the community newsletter they post crimes reported to patrol & most happen in the gated comm./apt./condos. A lot of times it's stuff like "Owner reported items stolen from open garage, car etc.

Your window was smashed so it had to be locked & plain bad luck, Sorry.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by philmason

I moved here about 6 weeks ago and have been living in an apartment in the 9000 block of W Charleston.

It is kind of strange because I have lived in Las Vegas for over 5 years now and never had have anything like this happen to me. To add to it, I also have always lived in the worst areas of town. The secret to it is no one would ever want to break into and/or steal my car. However, if I was driving a new $40,000 vehicle, well....

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by AA702

Best thing to do is to garage your car. Also put everything of value out of sight!

That will not work either. I work in a prestigious area, and we have had multiple car break ins even in the middle of the day (they only have us security guards on duty after 6pm on weekdays). They always go after the more expensive vehicles. If you make yourself a target, you will eventually get hit.

[bx2bk2lv]

I'm really sorry this happened to you. Just the whole concept of theft gets my blood boiling. Sadly, the truth is (at least what I've seen) that those guards that patrol the complexes are paid minimum wage or little more. They are really only a visual deterent and will not do much if confronted with a situation. They are not armed so would be foolish to go up against someone that might be. As you said, your thief had "balls of steel" he/she did this in an area where people were probably out and about. I really dont think that the lowlife would have cared about seeing anyone at all, uniformed or naught. Additionally, I myself went to visit someone living in a guard gated situation and was only asked my name.....not for ID.....just my name. I could have made up anything. They dont do much. Again, sorry this happened and good luck is locating a safe home.

[swagger]

One of our cars was broken into a few years ago, and they also took the gps. We want to get one of the double DIN gps/stereo units for a different car, but I've been hesitant due to the security issues with them. Your story seals it, I think... We won't be getting one.