Last week's report that two teenagers had been arrested in connection with a series of car break-ins may be an indictment on the job parents and the larger community have done to give children options other than a life of crime.
But it's also an indictment on the rest of us who should be more thoughtful about leaving our possessions out where just anyone can get to them with a modest bit of effort.
Mark Linker and Tyler Hall stand accused of breaking into as many as 15 vehicles in the Riverwood community. All of the cars, police say, were left unlocked.
Pressing the lock button seems a small price to pay for the security of knowing that the stuff you left in your car will be there when you return.
We realize locked doors won't deter every criminal, but it should be worth noting that no locked car was broken into during this series of break-ins.
For the nervous criminal, a locked door represents too great a risk of danger and getting caught. It's so much easier to move on to another vehicle, open the door like you were getting into your own car, take what you want and walk away.
It's not the kind of activity that's likely to draw attention from passersby. Even a police officer passing by may not deem it suspicious to see someone getting into a vehicle.
Now, we know that one of the alluring traits of life in Clayton and, indeed most of Johnston County, is that we are relatively safe. Despite our growth, many neighbors still know each other and we like to think that we have no real need to lock our doors.
The recent break-ins suggest otherwise.
We also know that locking the car doors is a habit. Old habits, like leaving the car doors unlocked, can be hard to break. But locking our doors is a new habit worth forming.
If you don't think so, ask any of the 15 victims of the recent spate of break-ins if they wish they had locked their car doors.
Don't wait to become a victim before you decide to start locking up.
