The Alexandria Police Want You to Telecommute

I clicked on this article in the Washington Post about the arrest of a boyfriend-girlfriend pair of home invaders in Alexandria for a few reasons. 1) To make sure Wes and I hadn't been arrested yesterday (I did have two glasses of wine at pub quiz) and 2) to see where exactly in Alexandria people were being robbed.

And although the article is about how the pair was caught, I'm left feeling more worried than I was before I started reading. The story is about how this boyfriend (26) and girlfriend (19, yes, I'm making an editorial comment here) would go to people's houses during the work day and knock on the door and when no one answered (because we all have to work to afford to live in Alexandria), the couple would break in.

Now, they were caught when they broke in to a house where someone was home before the resident had a chance to open the door. She called 911 when she heard her window breaking, and the police arrived in time to apprehend the fleeing suspect. That's the good news.

The bad news is the take-away lesson:

[Sgt. Fard, head of the property crimes division,] said residents can protect themselves by being aware of their surroundings and not opening the door of their home unless they are expecting somebody. Otherwise, if someone is knocking, he advised residents to talk through the door to find out what the person wants.

"If something seems suspicious, call police," he said.

Really, Sargeant? I'm pretty aware of my current surroundings and nothing seems suspicious because I am at work. How can I possibly know if someone is breaking into my house right now when I am not there. Wasn't that their whole plan? And wasn't it foiled when someone did try to open the door?

My tax dollars at work.