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25 tips to make your home and neighborhood safer
July 29, 2010
Tips collected from local law enforcement agencies and websites, including crimepreventiontips.com and www.ncpc.org.Your home
1. Put your street address numbers on your mailbox or at the street for emergency personnel.2. Do not leave valuable items in plain view of windows.
3. Cut all bushes and trees back from around windows and doors to avoid hiding spots and shadows.
4. Do not hide spare keys on your property; most burglars know the common hiding spots.
5. Make sure exterior doors are solid wood core or metal. They should have double-keyed deadbolt locks with a minimum bolt throw of 1-inch -- and, remove the key from the lock.
6. Install a peephole and never open the door to someone you don’t know.
7. Secure sliding glass doors with locks or a rigid wooden dowel wedged in the track.
8. Secure windows with backup keyed locks or nail pins. Storm windows also offer a measure of added security in that a burglar may pass up a house with storm windows when he realizes that he will need to defeat two sets of windows to gain entry.
9. Create a “diversion safe” in your home for valuables. Burglars know where to look for items — dressers, desk drawers, jewelry boxes, under mattresses, in the backs of refrigerators and freezers. A diversion safe is designed to look like a standard household product like shaving cream or a soda can. The looks and weights are duplicated exactly, so a burglar looking through your home likely will never spot them.
10. Outside floodlights should be left on from dusk to dawn. Inside your house, put lights on alternating timers when you leave home and do not disconnect them when you are home. If you will be gone several days, arrange to have the mail and papers stopped or picked up.
11. When you go out for the night, keep a television on, or play a radio inside the house.
12. Keep doors, including garage doors, locked at all times.
13. Keep photos and records of all valuables, including model and serial numbers, in a safe place. Keep a list of all your credit card account numbers and bank account numbers with customer service phone numbers in a safe place, too.
14. If you live in an apartment, have all the locks re-keyed when you first move in. Install deadbolts on exterior doors, when possible. Lock the door behind you, even if you are just going out to the car or to check the mail. Let the office know when you’ll be away on vacation and leave a contact number for emergencies.
Your car
15. Whether in the vehicle or not, keep the doors locked at all times. Never leave valuables in plain view.16. Never leave the vehicle unattended while the engine is running.
17. Keep a copy of your registration in your wallet or purse. Never keep your vehicle title in the vehicle.
Your identity and the mail
18. When you order new credit cards in the mail or previous ones have expired, watch the calendar to make sure you get the card within the appropriate time. If not, call the credit card grantor immediately to find out if the card has been sent. If you don’t receive the card, check to make sure a change of address was not filed.
19. Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if bills don’t arrive on time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed your billing address.
20. Shred all documents before discarding them, including pre-approved credit applications, insurance forms, bank checks and statements, and other financial information.
21. Write to the Direct Marketing Association, Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735 to get your name off direct mail lists.
Your neighborhood
22. Keep up the neighborhood. Dark alleys, litter, overgrown yards and rundown areas attract crime.23. Get out and meet the neighbors. You’ll not only get to know the faces that are supposed to be there, you’ll be more alert to ones that aren’t. And, if you see a suspicious person or activity in the neighborhood, report it.
24. Know where your children are at all times and where they will be when they go out. Show them “safe” places in the neighborhood.
25. Finally, take advantage of all the services offered by Midlands area law enforcement agencies. Most, for example, will visit your home or business and make suggestions on how to improve safety. Representatives also can attend neighborhood meetings and events to talk about setting up a crime watch -- another valuable tool in boosting neighborhood safety -- as well as topics like home security, self-defense and more.
Published in The State