The day began like any other for the people who live in the lovely home on Buttewoods Lane in North Shelby County.

But Monday would turn out to be something very different than ordinary for those people.

The real emergency was to come later that day. Dispatchers took the call about a reported robbery in progress at the home. That call was the first indication that this day would be unlike any other.

Sheriff’s deputies responded moments later, spotting someone running from the home as they approached.

The suspect was arrested later that afternoon with help from Hoover and Montevallo Police Departments, and is sitting in the Shelby County Jail waiting for his day in court.

We can be thankful that, thanks to fast acting local law enforcement, the perpetrator of this crime has likely been arrested and no one was seriously injured.

But the crime also serves as a clear reminder that while living in Shelby County is something of a Mayberry-like existence, we are not fully insulated from crime and the dangers it presents to our families and possessions.

The days of leaving doors unlocked, even during the daytime, have long since passed.

Monday’s incident reminds us all, hopefully, to be more vigilant in looking after our own homes and those of our neighbors.

Simple things like keeping your doors locked and lights on, offering to keep an eye on your neighbor’s home, keeping landscaping trimmed back below windows and the like make a big difference in preventing crimes.

No doubt the economic troubles of late have pressed some to commit crimes they themselves would have thought unthinkable in better times.

That’s not an excuse, but rather a reality of today. So too is the reality that we all have an important role to play in preventing crimes.