It’s no secret that there has been an increased number of theft reports around our community lately. Just take a look at social media or the police reports published in our paper.

Theft is one of those things that you can empathize with any victim. You work hard to acquire what you have, and when that’s taken from you unrightfully, it’s going to cause a gut-wrenching reaction, whether fear or anger. Especially in a home break-in situation, the thought of an unwelcome intruder in the one place that’s supposed to be a safe haven makes my skin crawl.

Last week, some folks that are very near and dear to my heart experienced a situation that ended with a positive conclusion, but evoked a lot of emotions from me, and them, nonetheless.

I heard my parent’s address, my childhood home, over the scanner at work. According to the scanner, the front door was reportedly swinging wide open. I quickly called my mom.

She said a neighbor saw the door swinging open as she walked by, and that it was closed when she walked a little further and turned around. The neighbor also reported seeing a man with a backpack walking down the road earlier that morning.

Mom, who was at work out of town, called the police station to report it. Upon hanging up the phone, I heard police Chief Bruce Burke once again come over the scanner and request back up at the address. This really got my heart pumping.

I may not have lived with my parents for several years now, but it will always be home to me. To think of a stranger in the place where I grew up instantly sent me into a fit of anger and fear.

I raced back to town, white-knuckled. Mom was waiting with the neighbor when I got there. Burke’s back up had arrived and they were doing a sweep of the residence.

They reported they didn’t find anyone inside, and requested that my mom take a look to make sure nothing was missing. A quick walk-through quickly led to reassurance that the swinging door was a false alarm. Whether the wind blew it open and slammed it shut, or the neighbor saw a shadow, there wasn’t in fact an intruder. A sense of relief quickly overwhelmed us.

There’s been talk about a neighborhood watch program beginning in Peabody that will take a little money to get off the ground. I think that’s a great idea!

Even if the there wasn’t someone breaking into the home, the neighbor called. She cared enough about the people who lived next door to do the right thing. I think everyone can agree that they’d want their neighbor to do the same.

The recent slew of theft has seemingly increased the alertness of many. Stay alert. Stay aware of your surroundings, and not just for your own benefit. If you see something, report it. If you fail to take that step, it only increases your chances of falling victim to theft.

My grandma burned the popular saying, “treat others how you want to be treated” in my head at a very young age, and I believe this to be a great example of that. Being a good neighbor is free. A financial and emotional toll could result from unreported theft crimes.

— Paige carr