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You Won’t Believe What Someone Posted…
BY: COMMUNITY SAFETY TEAM | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A car slammed into the gate at Whisper Walk off Lyons Road mid-day Sunday. There were no serious injuries. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and paramedics responded. There was no reason to believe it was intentional. In communities that skew older, sometimes people hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.
It’s a social media post, however, that is getting attention on Monday. A resident who we are not identifying took to a social media site popular with senior citizens to pose these questions: “Who destroys a gate like this? Wonder how long we will be unprotected?” It’s the use of the word “unprotected” that law enforcement will tell you leads to problems.
Gated communities are everywhere across South Florida. And the value of the gate is largely nothing. Anyone who wants to get into a gated community can normally do so without a problem. A pizza delivery person. Someone claiming to be an Uber or Lyft Driver. Someone claiming to be an Amazon Prime delivery person. A landscaper. You name it, it’s likely been thought of by people who are up to no good — and getting into a gated community, past a guard making barely minimum wage, just isn’t a challenge.
What is a challenge, however, is changing the mindset of many who live in gated communities. Law enforcement frequently tells BocaNewsNow.com that people have a false sense of security when they drive into their “gated” development. They leave doors unlocked. They let their children roam free. And in a uniquely South Florida problem, people leave fobs in their Teslas and late model luxury cars, only to express shock and dismay when those cars are suddenly missing. The Boca Raton Police Department even created the slogan “WTF?!” It stands for “where’s the fob?!” It’s a reminder to keep your key fob with you.
BocaNewsNow.com concurs that people shouldn’t drive into gates. But to those readers who may have recently relocated to South Florida, we join law enforcement in reminding you that the gates to your community are probably worth less in safety than the actual retail value of the gates. Lock your doors. Be aware of your surroundings. Report anything suspicious. And don’t believe for a minute that someone crashing into your gate makes you any less safe than you were before the gate came crumbling down.
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