Their fears are heightened by a murder in North Hills in May that police say started as a break-in.
While there have been a few break-ins in recent weeks, the most talked about crime happened on one of the quiet streets in late June.
The victim told ABC11 that a masked burglar used a ladder from her shed and came in a back door on the second level. When she saw him, she yelled and he came after her as she grabbed the phone in the bedroom.
She locked the bedroom door and bathroom door, but he kicked them both in before retreating, possibly because he realized she was talking to a 911 dispatcher. On the way out of the home, he grabbed some valuables.
Then Tuesday, not far away, a man apparently pretending to be a security system salesman showed up at John Cerqueira's house at 9 p.m.
"I told him about the rash of break-ins. Told him how inappropriate it was to be going door to door at all but really door to door at nine o'clock at night in the dark," said Cerqueira. "He responded aggressively with profanity, gave a profane hand gesture, and left in a white van driven by somebody else."
There are mixed emotions in the area about the response from police. Some think community watch is doing all the work.
Others say the Raleigh Police Department has been very attentive, sending investigators and even additional patrols into the neighborhood.
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