Wichita man gets creative to fend off porch pirates
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Wichita neighborhood has taken fighting crime into its own hands.
“Law enforcement can’t be here patrolling the street every second of the night. That’s not possible. It takes good neighbors to combat stuff like that,” said David Griekspoor.
David Griekspoor and Darryll Higgins live in west Wichita. They consider their neighborhood safe but not immune to thieves.
“We are all trying to be vigilant about things. Keep the garage doors closed, trying to get cameras up to stop it,” said Higgins.
Higgins said someone stole nearly $3,000 worth of tools from his locked truck in November.
“I am just tired of crime like everyone else. I have had my car broken into multiple times since I have been here,” Griekspoor said. “There’s really not much you can do to prevent it, but you can get neighbors together and work hard and just keep a good eye out. That’s the best you can do.”
That’s exactly what Griekspoor and Higgens have done. Higgins has installed surveillance cameras around his home. He has also secured his trailer.
“The trailer has chains that are wrapped around the axil and rims so even if they try to pull it out of here they aren’t getting nowhere,” he explained.
Recently, Higgins decided to take his neighborhood watch role to a new level. He wrote to his neighbors on the social networking website Nextdoor to explain what he had in mind.
“I offered to actually cut a hole in my trailer so the mailman could just put it directly in the trailer and you just call me when you get home and I will bring you your package,” Higgins explained.
Higgins is disabled and spends the majority of his time at his home. He said protecting his neighbors’ packages is the least he can do.
“I think it’s a great idea for someone to even offer to do that because people are at work all day and UPS is coming by during the day and that’s when people drive by and look for packages,” Griekspoor said.
Higgins said he is hopeful his due diligence will help keep his neighborhood safe.
KSN asked Higgins what he would say to the potential thieves.
“Get a real job,” Higgins responded. “We have all worked hard for our money, quit trying to get freebies.”