INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Vero Lake Estates residents are ready to bring back their regular meetings with the Sheriff’s Office and take back their neighborhood from break-ins and burglaries.
Some time back, the community had those regular meetings with members of the Sheriff’s Office – increased patrols and neighbor vigilance came as a result, as did a dropped crime rate.
But, in the absence of those meetings and an increased unemployment rate as the economy continues to falter, crime is on the rise.
“I think it’s healthy for us to meet,” Sheriff Deryl Loar said to a packed room at the North County Library.
More than 60 people from the Vero Lake Estates community attended the meeting – some to vent frustrations over how the Sheriff’s Office has or has not handled calls for service, others to ask questions about defending yourself and your home.
Despite popular opinion, Sheriff Loar told the neighbors, Vero Lake Estates does not have the highest crime rate in the county. That title goes to the south county community of Vero Highlands. Behind Vero Highlands is Gifford.
To dispel another myth – that crime happens only at night – Sheriff Loar told the neighbors that their statistics show most burglaries occur dayside, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“Wow,” one woman in the audience whispered.
“There’s a direct correlation” between crime and the economy, he said, which is why there has been an uptick in crime, not only locally, but regionally and nationally as well.
In 2009, Vero Lake Estates registered 15 auto and 17 residential burglaries. The following year, there were 10 auto and 20 residential burglaries.
So far this year – through June – there have been 18 auto burglaries and 37 residential burglaries. The statistics garnered moans and whispers amongst the crowd.
“They’re not numbers that we like,” Sheriff Loar said.
However, of the 18 auto burglaries, 16 were crimes of opportunity, he said. The vehicles’ owners had left the vehicles unlocked.
Sheriff Loar said he, too, has been a victim of auto theft – because he, himself, failed to lock the vehicle.
He had been hurrying because it was raining and forgot to lock up his personal vehicle. When he returned to his vehicle, he noticed some items missing.
“You feel terrible about it,” he said.
As for those who have been arrested, accused of committing the burglaries as of late in Vero Lake Estates, Sheriff Loar called them “bandits.”
Showing a display board with their mugshots, the sheriff said “one or two bandits can create havoc on a community.”
In a few instances, a couple of the arrestees are co-defendants in the same cases.
One woman who declined to be identified, relayed to the audience and Sheriff Loar her concerns about certain people driving through her neighborhood, in particularly private investigators.
She said the day or two before her home was broken into, she spotted a black SUV driving around, which she reported to the Sheriff’s Office. The person who took her call assured her the person was a private investigator.
The woman said she still did not feel right about the vehicle – but a deputy was never dispatched to check it out. A day or two later, her home was broken into.
When a neighbor walked out front and questioned a woman driving the vehicle, the woman said she was looking for someone’s home and took off around the block. She came back around and, according to the neighbor, two men came rushing out of the home and climbed into the SUV.
It took 17 minutes.
The men had the TVs and computers disconnected and they had gone through all the resident’s personal items.
“It’s just horrendous,” the woman said.
She later added that it was her belief the “private investigator” was not really one at all and that the Sheriff’s Office should have sent someone to check.
Sheriff Loar agreed.
Sgt. Rick Vidiri recommended residents to ask for the supervisor on duty if at any point they are unsatisfied with the response they get from the person who answers the non-emergency line.
Sheriff Loar said anytime a repossession is to occur, the Sheriff’s Office is notified – and said he would look into getting private investigators to announce themselves as well.
Sue Kranenburg, a board member for the community, said she was encouraged by the turnout for the meeting and is hopeful that interest will be renewed in the Crime Watch program.
“We always get a good turnout when the Sheriff is here,” she said.
Five-year resident of Vero Lake Estates and Neighborhood Watch Block Captain Richard Barr said he, too, was encouraged by the turnout.
“Things start happening and people get concerned,” he said.
While he didn’t necessarily learn something new Tuesday evening, the statistics were of interest to him.
“I know they’re going to get worse and worse,” he said.
That’s exactly what the Sheriff’s Office is trying to avoid.
Sgt. Vidiri and Sheriff Loar both encourage residents to call the non-emergency line to report anything that might be suspicious – a vehicle driving slowly around the block, people going door-to-door, whatever might trigger a negative gut reaction.
“Without you, we can’t do our job,” Sgt. Vidiri said.
The non-emergency line for the Sheriff’s Office is (772) 978-1817 or (772) 569-6700.
