Crime & Gossip: Following a recent Men’s Club meeting, where he was a guest speaker, I spoke to Sergeant Jim Greenwood from the Dana Point Police Department about some of the many reports from residents about the rash of thefts from garages and cars. The Sergeant carefully perused his crime statistics and could only find a few reports for the entire year for Niguel Shores. These few reports did not reflect a crime problem or pattern at all. Many of us have heard the gossip and I certainly believe our neighbors are being forthright when they tell each other about the frequency of theft related crime on their blocks. Some of these same people even have strong suspicions as to who is responsible for these crimes. However, it is apparent these incidents and suspects are not being reported to the police department. Simply put, as good neighbors, should we fall victim to a thief, no matter how small the loss, please report it to the police. Normally unless it is a break-in the report will be taken telephonically. This unselfish effort will help ensure that our community’s problems receive an appropriate amount of police attention. It will also enable the investigating deputies to identify patterns and take both preventive and enforcement action.
Gates & GPS: Each of the entrances to our community is unique in itself. However, the Selva and Cabrillo Gates 
present special challenges to delivery people, guests and those that may be impatient. It seems that on a very regular basis someone attempts to hurry into the community by immediately following a vehicle in front of them with a bar code that has activated the gate and arm. I have been told that at least one car successfully made it, but a significant portion don’t without colliding with the descending arm or having their tires punctured by the ascending spikes. Generally all guests and service people should enter at the Mariner Gate. Those of us using the Selva and Cabrillo Gates have to be patient as these gates were engineered to allow only one vehicle in per cycle. In other words, the arm has to come down and go back up each time. It is hard to believe the number of punctured tires reported each month! Please caution guests and delivery people to not believe their GPS and like systems and go through the Mariner Gate. These systems often direct folks to our Stonehill, Selva and Cabrillo Gates. Imagine how frustrated and annoyed a special visitor might become at the Stonehill Gate.
Overnight Parking: We have recently had some folks express concerns about specific overnight parking violations. Our routine parking enforcement during these off hours is accomplished by focusing on a specific area and then rotating each day to another. Should you have a specific parking concern that requires time based action, please address your complaint to the office. Security people assigned to parking enforcement will then be able to investigate the matter.
For thousands of years the Celtic peoples of old celebrated Samhain which signified both the shorter hours of daylight, the death of the old year and birth of the new one. This old pagan holiday has subsequently evolved into what we now celebrate as Halloween and one of the more exciting days of the year for many children. There is probably no other time that children are apt to throw caution to the wind and dart into the street. So please utilize extra caution if driving on this date. God Bless.
— Tim Murphy, Traffic & Safety Committee Chairman
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