The News, Talk, Sights and Sounds of the Warfleigh Neighborhood

Door-to-door solicitors

Last night (Thursday, around 8pm), we had a knock on the door while I was Amy and I were putting Sara down for bed. I opened the door to find an African (yes, he was dark-skinned, but he also had an African)accent) holding a box, soliciting donations for something having to do with basketball. I told him, "No thanks", and while I felt a little bad about it, because he was probably legit, I none the less called 911. (a person soliciting after dark qualifies as a "suspicious person", and if you try calling the non-emergency number, they'll just transfer you to 911 anyway). It may sound harsh or mean, but I know from talking to Amy's cousin, who's a Hamilton County Deputy Sheriff, that if the person who's soliciting you isn't your neighbor, the person is probably from half way across the country. (Skim this article: http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-07-17/news/what-mainstream-publish...). The organizations themselves are shady enough, but the individual solicitors frequently have a second line of work: Breaking and Entering. Neighborhoods like ours are target because they are well-off enough to be rewarding, but not enough so that the police will be called as soon as a person in the neighborhood sees them on the sidewalk. Anyway, I called 911, then set out to see if I could find where he went. The officer and I found each other, then a few moments later, he found the guy. It turns out that he was part of a crew of 10 in the area, and the officers kept him there until a guy in a van came to pick him up. The officers strongly encouraged me that calling them was the correct thing to do, and they too were suspicious as to whether that was the only thing he was up to, with good reason, as it turns out. I spoke with a lady who was driving down 62nd, just before the officer rolled up on the guy, and she was in the middle of pulling a u-turn to drive past him again because she saw him looking into cars parked along the street.

Moral:
Don’t feel bad for calling in a solicitor,
Feel good for protecting your neighbors.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Boda on December 12, 2008 at 5:36pm: I've called the non-emergency number on these people a few times myself. And yes, every time the operator answers, they say "911, what is your emergency?". Unfortunately, if these crews are coming from out of state, they're likely not getting the word that our neighborhood is more trouble than it's worth. Still, it probably gets them out of the area sooner. And whatever you do, don't encourage these people by buying things or making "donations".; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Heather Lusk on December 13, 2008 at 5:47pm: You did the right thing Rob. Good job.
I feel bad when I've called during the day too, because I know some folks are definitely legitimate. But in my mind legitimate ones:
actually go door to door without skipping those where someone is obviously at home
don't arrive in the neighborhood on foot
don't knock on doors at 10a.m. on a weekday
stop canvassing the neighborhood by 7:30 pm at the absolute latest
have the correct paperwork anyway so they have nothing to worry about if the police are called

I guess if someone isn't doing anything wrong, they have no reason to be concerned if the police shop up. That's my philosophy. If they're around her for the wrong reasons then they should know we're not going to put up with it.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Pete on December 21, 2008 at 1:33pm: We are at 63rd and Central and I believe we had the same solicitor. Thanks for the info! Pete; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Robert Gunn on January 2, 2009 at 11:27am: Here's something I heard a few weeks ago. Mind you, take it with as many grains of NaCl as necessary, since this is at LEAST 3rd hand. Anyway, Anne's daughter, Beth, mentioned that there'd been a pair going around during the day, somewhere in the area, one would knock on the front door, and if no one answered, the other one would come in off the alley and kick the door in while the first one stood there. Like I said, I know nothing about the origins of the story, so make of it what you will. Scary, though, to think what happens when someone is hope, but doesn't answer the door.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bridget & Chris Carson on January 2, 2009 at 5:53pm: Kelly Jessup, the officer who provides updates to the Broad Ripple Village Assn meetings, warned of a scenario like you mentioned. She suggested that, if someone knocks, you let them know that you are home but will not answer the door. I have to admit that I haven't tried this approach as of yet...last time it was just the mailman :-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rhonda Finney on January 11, 2009 at 2:51pm: Officer Kelly Jessup has said (during the "Crime Watch" update in WNA meetings) that she has no problems with people calling IPD on solicitors. Please do not hesitate to do so, especially if you're suspicious of their motives.
Any suspicious activity warrants a 911 call - that's what we've been told.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joe on March 13, 2009 at 11:39am: My wife had a solicitor this AM while I was at work, and though the police identified & stopped the vehicle and found them to be legit, she was nonetheless scared when 3 middle-aged African-American males in a white unmarked pick-up truck pulled in the driveway & started honking the horn (granted it had a wheel barrel & tools in the back). Two of them stayed in the vehicle, while a third rang the door bell & knocked.
My wife was quite startled and with the rash of burglaries in & around our neighborhood, she called 911.

Bottom line: wearing Carhartts & having a wheel barrel doesn't necessarily make you legit, and though some may have a happy trigger finger for punching 3-digits on the phone, you're asking for it if you: A.) don't advertise yourself by looking legit / official with paperwork, a sign / placard, or something that identifies you as such, B.) proceed to honk your horn upon pulling into an unsuspecting driveway, and C.) are ignorant of the fact that your would-be clients / customers have a heightened sense of awareness due to recent crimes that fit a similar pattern.

Just FYI.

--Joe E.; ▶ Reply to This

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