'Bicycle Bandit' Has Town On Edge
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It used to be the kind of town where people simply didn't worry about locking their doors and windows at night.
No more.
A string of residential break-ins over the spring, summer and fall has Warsaw-area homeowners scurrying to find ways to beef up their home and personal security systems.
"Most people are just downright horrified that people might break in and hurt their loved ones," said Jeff Holladay at Radio Shack.
He said Radio Shack is selling "probably three to four times what we normally do" in terms of alarm systems - everything from personal alarms to monitored security systems.
The demand for monitored systems, in which a customer pays a monthly fee and any home alarm is answered by a security company, has increased about 25 percent, said Melody Reese, a co-owner of Reese Security Services Inc. on East Winona Avenue.
Reese said her business also includes a locksmith service, and has had many more calls lately for stronger, tamper-proof locks, such as deadbolts.
An unexpected request, she said, is from previous or existing customers, who ask for yard signs or window stickers to show that their home is protected by a security system.
The fact that the "bicycle bandit" often breaks into homes in the early morning hours while the occupants are sleeping has many people genuinely afraid for their own safety.
Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine said about two months ago the number of gun permits began to increase, a trend that has continued this month.
Rovenstine said he has seen approximately a 50 percent increase in permit requests, with 60 to 75 percent of those being women.
Because of the increase in gun permits being requested by first-time gun owners, Rovenstine said, he is developing a gun safety seminar he hopes to hold this month.
Women are also braving the world of gun shops more lately than in the past, said a representative of Albertson's Sports Shop on U.S. 30, east of Warsaw. Many women have purchased handguns, he said, but others settle for mace or pepper spray products.
"It's hard to tell with men, because they always come in here, but we've definitely had more women since July and August," he said.
Randy Rhodes, at Rhodes Countryside Kennel on North CR 375E, said he has not received more calls for dog training, but has gotten calls from people who want to buy dogs that are already trained. [[In-content Ad]]
It used to be the kind of town where people simply didn't worry about locking their doors and windows at night.
No more.
A string of residential break-ins over the spring, summer and fall has Warsaw-area homeowners scurrying to find ways to beef up their home and personal security systems.
"Most people are just downright horrified that people might break in and hurt their loved ones," said Jeff Holladay at Radio Shack.
He said Radio Shack is selling "probably three to four times what we normally do" in terms of alarm systems - everything from personal alarms to monitored security systems.
The demand for monitored systems, in which a customer pays a monthly fee and any home alarm is answered by a security company, has increased about 25 percent, said Melody Reese, a co-owner of Reese Security Services Inc. on East Winona Avenue.
Reese said her business also includes a locksmith service, and has had many more calls lately for stronger, tamper-proof locks, such as deadbolts.
An unexpected request, she said, is from previous or existing customers, who ask for yard signs or window stickers to show that their home is protected by a security system.
The fact that the "bicycle bandit" often breaks into homes in the early morning hours while the occupants are sleeping has many people genuinely afraid for their own safety.
Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine said about two months ago the number of gun permits began to increase, a trend that has continued this month.
Rovenstine said he has seen approximately a 50 percent increase in permit requests, with 60 to 75 percent of those being women.
Because of the increase in gun permits being requested by first-time gun owners, Rovenstine said, he is developing a gun safety seminar he hopes to hold this month.
Women are also braving the world of gun shops more lately than in the past, said a representative of Albertson's Sports Shop on U.S. 30, east of Warsaw. Many women have purchased handguns, he said, but others settle for mace or pepper spray products.
"It's hard to tell with men, because they always come in here, but we've definitely had more women since July and August," he said.
Randy Rhodes, at Rhodes Countryside Kennel on North CR 375E, said he has not received more calls for dog training, but has gotten calls from people who want to buy dogs that are already trained. [[In-content Ad]]