Here's an interesting question reporters sometimes face: do the stories we write give criminals ideas about easy targets?
A recent example: a couple of weeks ago I wrote about a section of the Bellevue Ranch community that's been abandoned by builders. They've left behind a block of unoccupied houses. Some are only half-built, with only wood framing in place; others are complete, but empty.
The block is a vivid illustration of the impact of the housing slowdown in Merced. When I wrote about it, I discovered -- and so did readers -- that the problem of what to do with half-built subdivisions is a new issue that city officials have never before confronted.
But where some see problems, others see opportunities--apparently, maybe.
A week later, burglars broke into three model homes and three empty (but unsold) homes in the same neighborhood.
They stole $100,000 in home furnishings, according to the police. (I'm wondering who the police called about the thefts, because the phone number for the development's sale office has been disconnected.)
The thieves didn't strike the exact street I named in my story; the crime happened a few blocks away.
But more than one police official told me several officers thought my story had prompted the burglaries.
One commenter on the Sun-Star's web site agreed, writing: "I think it was irresponsible of the Merced Sun-Star to let everyone know that no one was out there."
With the city in a foreclosure crisis, and several subdivisions throughout the county sitting half-built, I've written a lot about empty foreclosed houses, empty model homes and half-built houses, and I'll probably write about a lot more before this slump is over.
Should I have not written the story? Some would say it's irresponsible to not write about the empty houses.
Writing about the empty houses lets the police and city officials know that this is a problem in Merced.
I'd rather have people aware of a problem then ignorant of it, because when people know about a problem, the chances of solving it go up significantly.