Um I Am Pretty Sure My Neighbors...

I suggest you talk with a police officer about your concerns. Call the non-emergency line and ask to speak to an officer. The police can tell you if they have a criminal record but you'll have to have their full names. They can also advise you on what to do. It may be that your info will fit in with what they already have which will help the police to catch them, tho they probably won't tell you that. They can, at the least, do more drive bys. My department has reserve officers who do frequent drive bys when they're requested.

As a retired police officer I suggest that you get to know them. It's psychologically more difficult to steal from someone you know and like. Keeping them at arm's length definitely won't help and may make them more likely to continue with their crimes. You have nothing to lose and something to gain by getting to know them.

Definitely report to the police all suspicious circumstances. It might help to have your neighbors see the police at your house.

After your SWH: I'd check with the bank. Most homes, taken back by the lender, are left empty. Ask if they know there are people living in this house.

I would not hesitate to get security cameras put up! I'm sure you could find an affordable solution.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer...Get to know them, and what makes them "tick".. I too would install ( even if fake but looks real) a camera.. Ask them if they need one for their porch too. You can say that with the Jeep incident, that you have a pit in your stomach.. Get them on your side.. make them think you too are looking out for their best interest.. because that's what good neighbors do... You get the fake outdoor camera that looks real.. let them know that you are going to be taping...for the safety of the neighborhood. I too would go to your police department, address your concerns and see if maybe a squad car can be a bit more present.. a few more drive by's than normal.. What a awful feeling to have... and to know in your heart who you feel is doing it. You really have the upper hand here.....

So, when has the Police been called? Or have they not been called?
With so many robberies, well, I am sure the Police would like to know.

Document everything, including what that girl told you about her boyfriend ripping of that RV's tarp.
Take PHOTOS... of your bushes looking "smashed up."
Take PHOTOS, of everything.
And documentation.

Put, cameras up.
Get "door knob alarms" for your doors. (place like Amazon has it. We had that when I was growing up).
Get window alarms.
Get and do anything, you need to do, and get them busted.
You need PROOF.
Or fingerprints.
Or photos.

Your housemate needs one of those noisy alarms on his jeep, someone touches it at night and it sounds.

You should definitely tell the police that someone has been breaking into your vehicles and casing your house. Ask for frequent drive bys in your neighborhood.

I would get some kind of camera's hooked up outside that fed to the computer. I was going to at one time but decided to just tape the conversations. I think if you can get them on "tape" the police will take it seriously.

The hard drive on your computer will hold days and days of "tape". They are called web camera or an IP camera.

Sounds like you didn't have burglary concerns prior to them living next door.

I wouldn't invite them inside my home under any circumstances. I am not a trusting person and certainly not the overly friendly welcoming neighbor. Sometimes people come with ill-intentions and you learn that the hard way after you've been violated.

I wouldn't hold too long of a conversation with them either. Keep your distance as they are "new" to the neighborhood and you will better be able to observe their habits and mannerisms and draw a definitive conclusion for yourself.

Costco has security cameras for sale in their store and online. They had some on sale recently. When I was having problems at my house, the police recommended putting in a system.

We have security camera on all doors and 3 dogs.

Call the police when you see something has been messed with and discuss your concerns. Let them know what the girl said.

Some ideas/.

Talk to the police about your concerns. They can't do anything about your losses, but they can keep an eye on them.

Start a block watch with your neighbors. Make it obvious to these guys you are keeping your eyes open. Do this with the cooperation with the police.

Get an alarm system and motion detector light system. Post the signs where these guys can see them.

Good luck. I know how violated you feel. The important thing to do is to do something that will make you feel safer. Take care.

In my parents neighborhood there was a family that moved in not too long after my parents did, maybe a year or so. They had a teenage boy who was rude, nasty, and just plain bad.

Shortly after they moved in, houses were being broken in to. One at a time. And in order - so it was the same person obviously...unless some random person picked the next house out of luck!

There was actually a couple that moved because they were so scared.

It stopped when someone finally went over and said something to the parents. They had no idea the whole neighborhood assumed their son was the one doing it. Turns out it WAS him. It stopped and he has been quiet ever since- to my knowledge. This was 8 years ago or so...but talking to the parents helped!

It troubles me that you don't mention calls to the police -- I hope they were called for EVERY incident and that they took a full report on each break-in. Were they also called for the disturbed shrubs? I would have called and asked them to come over for that because of the prior car break-ins; obviously someone was trying your window. Any decent police force would have come and would take you seriously. They DO want and need to know about every single incident; it builds up a record of what is going on. Ask them about the possibility of increasing patrols in your neighborhood -- and then mention to the neighbors casually (since you can't prove it's them) that you have seen the cops in person; the cops have been to the house and taken photos and made a record of every incident; and the cops will be increasing patrols "so watch for those police cars on our street -- isn't that just great of them!" etc. Putting up security cameras as others mention is a good idea but I'd do real ones, not fakes. And do you have motion-sensor lights over the driveway, the back door, the basement door if there is one? They are not that expensive. Get outdoor, motion sensor lights that point directly where every car is parked (if the break-ins are on the street, start parking all cars in the driveway and get that light pointed at them). Those are good deterrents of overnight crime. Put them at the front and back of the house too, so that if someone is messing with a window, the lights go on.

This is what the police are for - to keep law an order. Call them to patrol at the very least. Let them do their job. You could be doing you and someone else a favor from being robbed by letting the robbers know your street is now being watched and may inhibit them from continuing.

I really hope you're calling the police with each of these incidents. You need to be filing police reports. If these people are in the system, the police could turn up evidence that they're trespassing and damaging your property. If they're renting and you have to press charges that could violate their lease and you might be able to work with their landlord to have them evicted.

EDIT: If the house is in foreclosure OR the bank owns the house then the bank very well will want to know if their tenants are acting shady.

Contact your landlord and inform him/her that you are having problems. Call the police and inform them, if anything for documentation.

Do they rent from the same landlord?
Do they rent?
Does your landlord know theirs?

If you found it unsafe and you DO decide to move, your landlord would more than likely let you out of the lease if it were truly unsafe. I've had to do that before when I was in college - car break ins and people entering our apartment. We told them that 3 young girls could not live in an area like that and needed to move to be safe....no problem, even got our deposit back. We were there for 6 months.

Can you put up motion detector floodlights? A camera?

Without proof - like fingerprints or video footage - you'll need to focus on deterring.

Check out outside home security tools - I know some can get expensive if you go all out, but some deterrants are pretty cheap and effective.

Can you go to the police station to see if your neighbors have a record? Ask the police to drive by every day twice a week, because you are suspicious of them. You want to remain anonymous. Definitely have someone install cameras around your property. Let us know what happens.

We had a problem with neighborhood kids vandalizing our lawn and we live in an upscale neighborhood. We did notifiy the police as well as our HOA. My husband is an avid hunter so we have game cameras and we decided to put them up to try and catch them in the act. They can be mounted in a tree on a post and most don't flash when the photo is taken. We were able to get then little pricks on camera, turned it over to the police and filed tresspassing charges. These cameras are also pretty inexpensive and don't require professional installation very easy to DIY. This could be an easy way to catch them in the act. You do need to contact your local police and let them know this has been happening. They could have been able to get prints off of your housemates car after the break in and that could have been valuable eveidence.

As a landlord, I suggest you notify them as soon as possible. Besides your personal property, their property is also at risk of being destroyed. I see that the landlord is your sister. Is she aware of what is going on?