Crime at Home

Home Crime Prevention Tips

• Demand credentials before admitting salesmen or repairmen into your home.
• Don't leave house keys hidden outside. Most hiding spots are obvious.
• Don't leave out ladders that can be used to reach a high window.
• Have a mailbox large enough to conceal mail. Uncollected mail is an invitation to a thief and suggests that no one is home.
• If a stranger asks to use your telephone, do not permit him to enter. Place the call for him.
• If children are home alone, teach them how to answer the door and telephone, and practice emergency telephoning with them.
• Install a peephole viewer.
• Install good deadbolt locks on your doors and avoid locks that can be manipulated by breaking glass to reach inside.
• Lock all doors and windows.
• Remember good visibility will discourage a potential burglar, so have lighting with timers inside and at all doorways.
• Report strangers or suspicious activities to the police.
• Trim back shrubbery that hides doors or windows, and trim tree limbs that could provide access to a second story.
• When you are away, ask a trusted neighbor to maintain your day to day routine.

Neighborhood Watch

Ask the Police Department to help you and your neighbors organize a Neighborhood Watch group. As a group, you can increase the safety of your block or street.