| Although Avondale is a relatively safe place to live, the drug problem in the city is making property crimes much more likely to occur and that puts long-time residents at risk. Drugs like meth and heroin have been affecting people across the country and are now a serious problem in the small town of Avondale. The problems come from both dealers and users as the dealers fight each other for limited customers and the users steal from their family and neighbors to purchase more of the drugs they need to get high. Addiction is a progressive disease. Although a person might begin using drugs to get high, over time, it takes more and more of the drug to achieve the same effect. After a while, they will build up so much tolerance to the drug that they need it just to feel normal. Quitting isn’t as easy as it would seem to someone who has never been affected by addiction. The side effects of not using the drug are often worse than those associated with inhaling or injecting it. Although it might seem like they are putting everything else aside to get the next dose of drugs, most addicts would prefer to live normal lives. However, the cost of treatment is often out of reach and since they tend to alienate their family and friends by stealing from them, they don’t have much support to help them recover. Many find it is nearly impossible to do alone and therefore, they take risks like breaking into their neighbor’s homes just to get the money they need to purchase more drugs. As a resident of Avondale, you have to protect your family from the dealers and the addicts. One way to achieve this is to install a security system. Addicts who break into houses don’t want to go to jail because they won’t be able to get drugs there. They want to get in and out of the house quickly with small electronics or other valuable items they can either sell or trade to their dealer for drugs. They’ll generally avoid homes with security systems because they understand they’ll be much more likely to get caught. These people are not professional burglars and won’t know the tricks some professionals use to get into and out of houses undetected. Preventing addicts from getting into your home is imperative if you want to keep your family safe and your belongings in your possession. There are some other things you can do to make your house a less likely target for addicts who need quick money. Some people find that a large dog can serve as an effective deterrent to burglary. Getting bitten by a big dog might mean going to the hospital and then to jail. Due to their addiction, they might not even be able to get strong enough pain medication to help them after a serious dog bite. If you have children in your home and want to consider this option, be sure to train and socialize your dog so it isn’t a threat to your family. If you work at night or are concerned that someone might try to get into your house after dark, consider installing bright lights around your house. No burglar wants a spotlight on them while they are about to commit a crime so they’ll surely run away as soon as the light hits them. Sensor lights are also very effective at catching people before they have a chance to approach a door or window. If this happens at too many houses, they might decide breaking into neighborhood homes is not an effective way to get drugs and try a different strategy. Ideally, these people will seriously seek treatment for their addiction before it affects more areas of their lives. In addition to the problems an addict can get into with the criminal justice system, parents who are addicted to meth or heroin can get into trouble with child protective services and could even lose their children. Having children placed in the foster care system because the parents are unable to care for them due to their addiction tends to lead to one of two results. Either the parents make a concerted effort to get clean so they can get their children back or depression sets in and they go deeper into their addiction. Social service agencies are always on hand to help people who actually want help. Drug addiction is a major problem in many communities. Police departments work hard to catch the dealers and their suppliers but there always seems to be another one to take their place. Whether the drugs are brought into Avondale from another part of Arizona or even from Mexico, the police have systems in place to track them and stop them from getting out into the community. While they would like to be able to protect every home from burglaries committed by addicts, they have to rely on residents to do their part and be proactive in preventing crime in their own homes. Sometimes that means installing cameras and sometimes it means getting a large dog that will take a bite out of any stranger that gets into the home. Whatever you choose to do, be sure you also keep an eye out for your neighbors and alert the police if you see anyone sneaking around the homes in your neighborhood when your neighbors aren’t home. |
