A North Austin neighborhood is using two wheels to fight crime.
Laura Dicarlo does not just ride her bike for exercise. She watches her neighbors' homes at the peak time when burglars strike.
"We want people to realize we're out, we're watching," Dicarlo said. "They're not welcome here."
She is fueled by experience. Last year, thieves hit her home.
"There was a car that was sitting right in front of our home that our neighbors did notice that then came circling back around. I feel like if people were on patrol, they might be able to notice a car like that," Dicarlo said.
Since then, she has not turned her back on any questionable activity in the Allandale neighborhood. As part of the watch group, she even tracks crime on a map in her home.
Burglaries keep popping up. Jenny Peterson is another victim.
"We had some things taken from outside of our house," Peterson said.
Dicarlo and volunteers trained by police typically monitor the streets with specially marked cars. However, for the past two weeks they have traded in four wheels for two to get an even closer look.
Volunteers are taught to never approach a suspicious person, or interrupt a burglary in progress. They call 911, snap as many pictures as they can, and then record a description of the suspect and the vehicle.
Dicarlo says her efforts have paid off with at least one suspicious driver.
"I passed. I came back a few minutes later, and he was still sitting there and then we made eye contact again, and he gunned out of the neighborhood, and I thought, 'Hummm.'"
"I think for us, it's a nice peace of mind," Peterson said.
