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MAGNA — A fence on a Magna home was deliberately pulled down, and the act was caught on camera.
But it’s not the damage the homeowner is concerned about.
A Magna community is working together to stop petty crimes like this one from happening altogether.
Homeowner Toni Martinez calls the damage a senseless act of vandalism.
“That’s what’s so hard to fathom. Like, why? Why did you do that?” Martinez said. When Martinez played back her home surveillance video, she caught someone pulling up outside her home at 1:45 a.m. and damaging the fence.
“It’s a great community,” Martinez said. “And to have little senseless crimes like this happen, it just doesn’t make sense.”
Martinez is also part of a community watch group on Facebook. She posted what happened on the Facebook page Sunday morning, even before reporting it to the local police.
“You just really get that information out there quickly,” Martinez said. “That way, the whole community knows what’s going on.”
This isn’t your average community watch.
“We wanted to create something that stands out in our Magna community saying we are different,” explained Kelly Peterson, Magna community watch Facebook president. “We are not going to take the crime in the community anymore.”
The “President” of the Facebook group said he’s committed to rallying the entire community to help be the eyes and ears in reporting local crime.
We wanted to create something that stands out in our Magna community saying we are different. We are not going to take the crime in the community anymore.
–Kelly Peterson, Magna community watch
“We’ve evolved into, like, 1500 people on the page,” said Peterson.
Taking it one step further, the group is handing out community watch fliers to be posted in everybody’s windows, warning criminals that even the smallest crimes won’t go unnoticed.
“We are out here, we are watching and we will report you,” Peterson said.
For Martinez, having home security is just one step in preventing these kinds of crimes from happening. But for Martinez and her neighbors in Magna, there’s more to it.
“It’s just getting people to know their neighbors. Look out your windows, start reporting those suspicious vehicles. Let’s get involved in our community and truly make a difference.”
The group has passed out about 300 community watch signs to various homes in the community and are encouraging anyone who lives in Magna to join their Facebook page.
In the Martinez fence case, Unified Police said the surveillance video isn’t clear enough to get a reliable image of the vandal.
But they agree that having a relationship between law enforcement and citizens is crucial to catching criminals and keeping communities safe.
