ADT Anderson, Indiana

Better Safe Than Sorry

There are many jewels in the crown of America that is the Midwest. Unfortunately, the city of Anderson, Indiana is not one of them. Not-so-affectionately known as the “Hoosier Ghetto”, the city boasts a crime rate that is exorbitantly high. It is a rather sad story, to be honest. Once a fairly prosperous blue-collar Indiana city, the local automobile plant shut down during difficult economic times and the area never really recovered. As so often happens, drugs came in and took over and both the crime rate and high-school dropout rate skyrocketed.

Acts Of Brutality

Back In 2013, a disgusting crime occurred in the city. A 17-year old youth broke into the home of a 93-year old woman and proceeded to not only beat her and but attempted to strangle her as well. He followed these violent actions with the even more violent act of raping her. After this blasphemy was complete, he robbed her of some of the belongings in her home. Police stated that he had kicked in the back door of the home and snuck upstairs to the senior’s bedroom to commit his vile acts. While the villain was arrested, the fact of the matter is the woman will always be haunted be these criminal misdeeds. The entire crime could have been avoided if only the victim had had a quality home security system. A loud alarm could have warned neighbors of impending trouble or even scared away the perpetrator before the acts could have been committed. In September of 2016, a man was shot to death in the parking lot of the Lynn Wood apartment complex. Police found him laying on the pavement dying of his wounds after reports of gunshots were received. While the shooter was eventually apprehended, it took weeks to complete the investigation. What could have saved both the time of the police and the money of the taxpayers, along with bringing justice more swiftly, would have been video surveillance equipment in the parking lot of the complex. Why they were not installed is anyone’s guess, but the lack of security came at a terrible price.

Interesting Origins

With crimes such as these seemingly taking place on a regular basis, it is no wonder that Anderson has become the poster child for violent urban crime. It is also interesting that one of the leading companies in home security can trace its origins back to the city. The company Sonitrol was founded back in the mid-1960s by a police officer named Al Cronk. The device works as an alarm verification system so that police officers or first responders know for sure alarm is not a false one. Experts in the security industry estimate that up 98% of alarms sent to police departments are false alarms. This results in a huge waste of resources as there are often instances of police, medical, and fire staff being sent out that are not on hand because they are elsewhere. This is another reason why the security system that is chosen should be installed by licensed professionals and should be professionally monitored at all times.

Citizens Taking A Stand

While the City of Anderson police do as much as they can to fight crime, there is no doubt that they need help from citizens in battling the forces of crime. To this end, the police department maintains a citywide neighborhood watch program that is broken down into various areas around the city. The following are names and contact phone numbers for the directors of each neighborhood watch division that participates in the program: Maggie Wable, City Wide Coordinator 765-621-6787 Tammy Reed, East Side NCW Coordinator 765-442-0092 Emilie Isenhour, South Side NCW Coordinator 765-643-4772 David Porter, Redbud Estates NCW 765-644-4479 Lessa Johnson, Scarlett Lakes NCW Coordinator 765-621-6773 Jay R. Gegenheimer, Operation Love NCW Coordinator 765-623-4214 Jeane Atkinson, North Anderson NCW Coordinator 765-642-4184 Annie M. White, Downtown NCW Coordinator 765-640-0133 The police department itself is located in the downtown area at the following address: 1040 Main St.
Anderson, IN 46016
Ph: 765-648-6715 They maintain a modest web presence. The official site located at http://cityofanderson.com/185/Police contains mainly a contact list of officers and links to the various divisions, both uniformed and non-uniformed.

What Security?

Perhaps one of the reasons for the high crime rate within the city limits of Anderson is the comparative lack of home security installation companies that are physically present within the city. A search online reveals no security companies that have a physical business presence within the actual city. However, this should not deter anyone from arming their home with a quality security system. There are several companies in the outlying area that service Anderson for their installation needs. Some of the top ranked are: Indiana Alarm (317) 399-5748 1028 Burntwood Way Westfield, IN 46074 Morrison Fire & Security (812) 345-1523 3555 East Ramp Creek Road Bloomington, IN 47401 All About Security
(317) 559-3500 1111 East 54th Street, Suite 113 Indianapolis, IN 46220 Anderson, IN can still be a good place to live in, even with the high crime rate. One must, however, be quite aware and realistic of the area in which they live. A high-grade professionally-installed home security system is not just recommended, it should be mandatory. A resident of the city should plan on spending a decent amount of money upfront to afford themselves the safety and peace of mind that comes from knowing that all is being done that can be done in the name of protection for your family.