A worrying trend ?

[floridapete]

"The vacationers weren't Brits, but rather, from Illinois, but this is still a scary vacation story in Four Corners:

Around 12:40 today, two guys were hanging around outside a vacation home on Keningston Park Drive in Davenport looking at the vacationers' rental car and so, like most people would do, the vacationer goes out there to tell them to leave it alone. When he does, one guy pulls a gun and threatens to shoot him. One of the men starts choking the vacationer, demanding the keys to the car.

The two guys end up stealing two stereos out of the car and fleeing. If you happen to know anything about it, call Det. David Last at 1-800-226-0344 or 863-534-6379."

The above taken from Kelly Griffiths blog on OrlSent.

This is the second armed robbery I have heard of in that area in the last week. Time to get concerned ?

It will only take one of these stories to get back to the UK Press to kill the UK/Fla market stone-dead overnight as it did more than ten years ago - and that would kill many management businesses off too !

[Mike Peach]

Do you think it was probably the same people Pete? If it is then the police had better find them fast as the cases seem to be escalating.

In the first one the victims drove away and the pair didn't fire, this time it seems they got physical but didn't fire. What happens next....

[Susie]

This is terrible news.

What I cannot understand is why tell someone to leave your car alone.

If I saw someone looking round my car I would ask them if I could help them thinking they must just be admiring my car.

After this posting, if I see anyone hanging around looking at my car on my drive I will now have to think twice whether to open my front door or not.

Wonder how many of us, when the door bell rings, just goes straight up to the door and opens it ?

How many of us have chains or spy holes and look before we open, not many I expect

[Kriz1]

I would of stayed inside and set the car alarm off if I thought they were up to no good...if they were just looking they would think they did it anyway...so no harm done....I don't open my door to anyone unless I know them....
Funny enough we had a car jacking on the Cape just up the road from us the same day....

[InnVic]

We don't even lock front doors, windows or cars here in Vermont.....although I know of someone who had a pumpkin stolen from their porch :-)

[Kriz1]

It is the same here...major crime is running a stop sign....but I grow up in a bad area of Bristol...and old habits die hard...we don't lock the cars...and I do leave my doors open in summer...but not when I'm on my own....

[kebab king]

Official figures for Florida show that from 1996 to 2005, index crimes were down 22.4% in number and 37.6% in rate.

From 2004 to 2005, there was a drop in number and rate for total index and property crimes, although violent crime showed a slight increase in number, but a drop in rate.

-Kristina

[Kriz1]

I know we had more gun crime where I lived in the UK than I've seen in the four corners area so far....

[floridapete]

Yes, these were two seperate incidents in the same area (though one in Polk and one in Lake). I have had that confirmed.

My concern is from past expeerience of ten plus years ago. If these kids (and I assume that they are kids) get away with it they will get brave and get even more aggressive, more threatening and someone is going to get hurt, even killed.

It has all happened before back in the early '90's around Orlando, Miami, even Tallahassee. If you all don't remember these VERY BLACK times for Florida in the UK media, then you are either too new to this Florida thing - or were too young to be interested back then.

There was a rash of 'home invasions' at that time when young, bored kids, fresh from relocations from New York etc. were 'having fun' invading the homes of tourists (who had naively left the patio doors open overnight because 'it was so hot'). They simply walked in - stuck the families up with 'BB guns' and demanded money and valuables. I was involved in helping Osceola Sheriffs department to contact the owners of these properties here in the UK.

Eventually, after about three or four of these invasions, the young guys were caught - one even was picked up back in New York with a real gun still in his possession which had been used in a break-in seige of a family. The 911 despatchers report of the screams for help from the Croydon family at the house, with gun fire in the background, as they tried to break the front door down, was played in all its glory on BBC radio for the whole of the Uk to hear !

I had the great pleasure of attending his court case in Kissimmee and seeing this young thug go down for 22 years (yes, he had other form). From that time the phase semed to pass, the police were much more tourist attentive, but we also educated our homeowner members and their guests to be much more crime and criminal aware.

One thing that we have always advised against is leaving rental cars on the driveway - night or day ! I know it's the American way (garage is usually full if so much junk anyway) but it only attracts attention from the scum, attention that you realy don't need. Apart from that they stay much cooler in the shade of the garage.

So let's keep a watchful eye on this one and hope that it doesn't get to be another 'rash' eh ?

[Kriz1]

I remember when there was a rush of invasions into hotel rooms...people being shot etc..it was very doom and gloom for the area...but nothing much came of it...

Home invasions come to an area and leave just as quick...its the one crime we have on the Cape sometimes...
Many of the second home owners near us are New York City cops...they are still armed when away...home invaders may one day pick the wrong house....

[anniefromessex]

Hi Pete,

Never spoken to you before as I am new to this site, but have been reading your messages.

I remember when things were bad in the early 90's, we have owned a home here since 1989, and it did affect us to a certain extent but people soon forget and things return to normal.

There is one thing I would mention though. I have been returning to England approximately every 3 months now for the last 2/3 years and my impression of England is that I would sooner walk round my sub division here than walk round certain parts of England, indeed, most parts of England. All I read in the papers over there is rapes, muggings, stabbings, shootings - all of whom if they are ever caught (highly unlikely) are let off because it is not politically correct to take away ones rights! Sorry to sound so cynical, but believe you me in certain parts of the world you might be cloistered but London and the Home Counties are having to deal with what you described every day.

[Susie]

I used to be a special constable in the met for 5 years in a respectable area of London.

The number of domestics suprised me and so many other crimes that just don't reported in the local newspapers. There was a double murder, drugs related that only made the locals.

It does seem that any incident in the Disney area gets so much publicity compared to the uk

[floridapete]

Hi Pete,

Never spoken to you before as I am new to this site, but have been reading your messages.

I remember when things were bad in the early 90's, we have owned a home here since 1989, and it did affect us to a certain extent but people soon forget and things return to normal.

There is one thing I would mention though. I have been returning to England approximately every 3 months now for the last 2/3 years and my impression of England is that I would sooner walk round my sub division here than walk round certain parts of England, indeed, most parts of England. All I read in the papers over there is rapes, muggings, stabbings, shootings - all of whom if they are ever caught (highly unlikely) are let off because it is not politically correct to take away ones rights! Sorry to sound so cynical, but believe you me in certain parts of the world you might be cloistered but London and the Home Counties are having to deal with what you described every day.

I'm sorry to disagree but the last 'open season on tourists' didn't wash over so quickly as you may remember - it took three years to come back and a whole lot of heartache in the meantime for people who lost their Florida homes in the process of the UK/Fla market dying.

Now as for comparisons with the UK - what are we concerned about here - UK tourism or Florida tourism ? I think the latter is what I am concerned about here.

[anniefromessex]

Yes, obviously we have to be worried that it could affect tourism especially for people who are coming over for the first time - it's pretty daunting to be 4000 miles away from home - especially if you have little ones and your first priority is to keep them safe from harm, but my point was people in the UK are getting so used to hearing about rapes, stabbings, muggings and murders, much more so than in the early 90's, that the few who do read about what has happened here will not be overly fazed by it, after all you read about the same things happening in Spain!! Lets face it, nowhere in the world is utopia anymore, more's the pity!

[Kriz1]

To me England has always been violent if you lived in the wrong part ...I grow up with gun crime and gangsters in the 60s....no go areas were common...I've seen in my time more illegal guns in the UK than in the USA....where I've only seen guns in shops and on cops...

Boston USA was a no go area years ago...then it went crime free...now crime is building back up again...I'm sure its the same in the Orlando area....and I'm sure its still the same in big cities in the UK ....

I've found my part of the USA just as quiet and free of major crime as the little villages I lived in before we moved over...

I'm on a few villa forums...crime is way down the list of questions asked...

[Emmalee25]

Yes, obviously we have to be worried that it could affect tourism especially for people who are coming over for the first time - it's pretty daunting to be 4000 miles away from home - especially if you have little ones and your first priority is to keep them safe from harm, but my point was people in the UK are getting so used to hearing about rapes, stabbings, muggings and murders, much more so than in the early 90's, that the few who do read about what has happened here will not be overly fazed by it, after all you read about the same things happening in Spain!! Lets face it, nowhere in the world is utopia anymore, more's the pity!

*Completely agree with you there, Leeds has terrible crime rates, I have been mugged 3 times, once in leeds center, once in a local village and once on a night out in York!
I lived in NC for a year and have been to Florida many many times and can say i have never been affected by anything negative (except maybe immigration...lol)

Em x

[Kriz1]

The only thing I find is crime is not reported that much in the local Newspapers in the US or not around here anyway...not like at home...
I always thought of the Cape as crime free...then I started reading the Court reports...and boy was my eyes opened...

[mark]

Hi Kris

I think this is what Sue mean't, loads of crime around jusr not always reported as much in London