Dear Residents,

In 2004, the Board of Directors sent a letter to all residents communicating our concerns regarding vandalism and arson within Andalucia.  As we all know, arson and vandalism can have devastating financial and emotional affects on a community and the homeowners that reside within the community.   When criminal acts like these occur, residents feel angry and frightened when something of theirs -- a mailbox, a garden hose, a car antenna, window -- is destroyed for no reason.

Vandalism is becoming a major problem in Andalucia and has adversely affected the community in numerous ways. Having to repair damaged community property is expensive and time consuming taking money away from other planned activities and improvements.  Having residents repair damaged property and re-do work performed at construction sites is also expensive and time consuming and can delay the completion of the home.     

While the Andalucia Homeowners Association does provide controlled access to our community through the Gatehouse attendants, and do periodic patrols to inspect community property, they do not patrol the community with the intent to catch perpetrators in the act of committing a crime.  All residents are responsible for their lot, property and the security of it. 

The Board of Directors is comfortable in stating that the recent acts of vandalism and arson were most likely committed by a resident or resident's guest.   With the installation of the bar code system, we are confident that only those residents who live within Andalucia or those residents that authorize guests into Andalucia are allowed access to our community.  Given this, we can only assume the vandalism and arson is being done by a resident or a resident's guest.

What can we do?

The most important deterrent is communication.   Most vandalism, including graffiti and arson attacks, occur at night and on weekends when construction sites are vacant and/or homeowners are away from their property.  Also, most vandalism is caused by young adults between 10 and 18 years of age who damage property for one or more of the following reasons:

• Boredom
• Anger
• Revenge
• Defiance

In most cases, parents are usually unaware that their child(s) or guest is involved in this type of activity or has spoken with the child(s) or guest but the actions have not changed.   

The Board of Directors asks everyone within Andalucia to speak with all your family members and guests about this problem.  The Board has been in communication with the Hillsborough County Sheriffs office to ensure each incident is taken seriously and investigated.   

Additional steps to aid in prevention

Many of the same precautions taken to discourage burglars may also discourage arsonists and vandals. By taking a few preventative steps, resident can help curb these crimes against property and the community.

• Educate - secure all doors, windows, skylights - especially entrances on the side and back of your home.  Construction sites should be locked as quickly as possible and have doors installed and lock the property.  Use private security if necessary.     

• Install and use an alarm system and make sure all family members know how to activate the system.

• Don't allow landscaping to provide camouflage or hiding places.

• Don't allow construction equipment and supplies to provide enough clutter as to make identification of vandalism difficult.  Also, don't leave out tools and supplies that might encourage vandals.

• Keep windows visible from the parking lot and street and lock them.

• Keep your property or construction site well-lighted at night.

• Ask your family members and neighbors to be watchful of strangers and immediately report suspicious actions/activity.

The Board of Directors considers arson and vandalism very serious crimes and will prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law.   

The Board of Directors needs to provide clarity regarding what is perceived and verbiage used within our community regarding our controlled access personal.  Andalucia does not provide any level of security whatsoever and each resident needs to understand that the only responsibility the controlled access personnel provide is that of restricting access to our community.

The Association does not provide or ensure member or resident security, and members and residents are encouraged to locks doors and windows, use private security systems, install and use alarm systems.  Call 9-1-1 (not the Association) to report suspicious activity, etc.

We are working with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Neighborhood Watch seminar and attempting to schedule them to attend our Annual meeting in March to educate residents better regarding how to participate in the community watch program.  This seminar would educate its members and residents on security and safety issues, and also gives the association a forum to discuss and outline resident responsibility.    As soon as this can be scheduled, you will be notified via email and a notice will be placed on our website.

We are also exploring additional ideas and welcome residents thoughts and comments.  Please email your ideas to commentbox@andaluciafl.com.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Your Board of Directors