Campsite security

Heymon wrote:
Rockhillmanor, what changed is that I had never had anything taken from ANY campground before, including Victorville. From the other items that were taken from other campers that weekend, it was not stuff to resell it was stuff to use. Who resells a 1 lb. propane canister? Another guy had his cooler taken that had beer and water in it. The cooler was dragged across the tracks into the hills so the guy managed to track it down in the morning. He found the cooler and the beer was still in it, but not the water. Doesn’t quite sound like druggies to me. Anyway, that guy and his friends (who were actually pretty tough looking guys) confronted the perpetrators the next night when they came back and they were essentially the more "traditional" homeless who were pretty meek. Not to say the druggies aren't out there, but I am sure more drugged out and drunk people have actually paid to camp in some of the campgrounds we've been to. In this case I know it was not other campers but transients from outside.

So I guess this has become a larger question of campground and (by extension) societal degradation. It really doesn’t matter where you live or camp, these types of issues will eventually creep into your life sooner or later. Yes, one response is to pack up and leave. If this was a gangbanger type of crowd then I would not camp there. Since this is petty theft I choose not to surrender to that, I choose to repel it. I don’t think my personal safety is at risk any more so than at home. I weigh the risk vs. reward and I believe I am well equipped to evaluate the situation.

So you can start running away in a case like this, but eventually you won’t have anyplace else to go. You can’t even stay home, because the same sort of element will eventually start creeping into your neighborhood, or somewhere you’ve heard of, that will make you think “what if?” Every city has a “bad” area, including the one most of you live in but you know better than to say that this bad area represents the entirety of the city. I live in a great neighborhood. I have surveillance cameras around my house, motion lights, and an alarm system (not to mention being armed). That is because a certain criminal element goes to nice neighborhoods so they can steal stuff because that is where the “stuff” is. I can’t really move to a better neighborhood (there’s only a few that are actually better,lol) so I have to do what I can to minimize risk while still living where I live.

It is easier to move when you have a trailer with wheels, obviously. But I wonder if I would feel safer in the middle of the desert as some have suggested? You think no one is around, but if someone is around and you are that far in the sticks what’s next? No one around to help you then, so I hope you're a good shot and don't run out of ammo. My son wants to boondock outside of Mojave CA, and I’m probably more wary of that than returning to Victorville. At least there are rangers during the day in Victorville.

I imagine that before this incident people (especially other campers and so called permanent residents) have come through one of our campsites or another at night looking for goodies to pilfer and not really finding much, so we would be unaware of the issue of “trespassers”. Now that someone nicked something from us, I am paying a bit more attention to things. Some have given me a few of the sorts of options I was looking for. Some have suggested not camping there. Some are essentially questioning my intelligence for even considering to stay there. Again, I am not surrendering my camping options after a lantern and a propane canister were stolen, I just don’t want that to happen again if I can help it. I think that is reasonable, and I think you are too eager to roll over and give up if fleeing is your preferred option.

Andre

I understand and I respect your position and agree with it.

I think that you are on the right track. All you can do is put stuff away out of site and chain up things. You can't stop a really determined thief but, most are looking for easy pickings and if you make it harder for them most will move on.

I don't' know what your campground is like but, could you get together with the other campers; form a campground committee; and look for solutions together ? Like some better security ?

Maybe, ,,maybe, depending on what these homeless people are like,, find them a way out of the situation that they are in ?

We have few traditional homeless around here but, a few. I know most of them and help out in small ways. Therefore, they leave me alone. But, my situation is different. I am in a very rural farming area.