Sometime in the wee hours between September 27 and September 30, 600 pumpkins went missing from the Rottkamp Farm in Calverton. The theft has everyone shaking their head and wondering how that many pumpkins could just vanish into thin air? One thing’s for certain; they didn’t grow legs and walk out on their own! At this time, police are still searching for the culprit(s) who took the $4200 crop from the family owned farm on Long Island. According to the report, the thieves did not damage the farm property, but they appeared to be familiar with it.
Whether you know it or not, unscrupulous people could also be familiar with your home and contents. Thieves become attuned to a potential victim’s lifestyle by hanging around the neighborhood and noting the patterns of the home’s occupants. They learn how many people live in the dwelling, who you are, where you work, what schools are attended, and your schedules for each. They can also use social media such as Facebook to learn about your personal finances and even spot valuables in your home from looking at your online photos. Professional thieves present themselves as trustworthy business people and often approach your neighbors in the guise of selling a product or service. Through casual conversations, they slyly gain information such as if you’re away on vacation, what time you arrive home from work, how many children you have, etc. Often, they will use your neighbor as a ‘reference’ to speak with you. Once inside your home, they glance around for valuables and/or art work on your walls. They may check door locks or windows when you’re not looking. The main thing they look for is to see if you have a home security system installed. If they don’t see one, you may be missing your valuable ‘pumpkins’ before long!
An excellent deterrent to would-be thieves is having a custom installed home security system. You and your family will breathe much easier day and night knowing you’re monitored and protected 24 hours a day from a central station alarm monitoring on Long Island. If you like, you can even participate in monitoring for suspicious activity outside your home while you’re away and report potential criminal activities to police by having video surveillance cameras installed with live feed download capabilities to your pc or phone. An alarm company that specializes in residential installations and service only, as opposed to those who divide their attentions between residential and commercial properties, is your best bet for complete peace of mind and protection.
If you have information regarding the great pumpkin caper on Long Island, or stumble across someone selling a highly unusual amount of pumpkin pies or jack-o-lanterns out of their car, contact the Riverhead police.
