Crime Prevention Tips

Be a Good Neighbor

• Agree to watch out for each other's home.
• Get to know all your adjacent neighbors.

Windows

• Keep windows secure and install a secondary blocking device on all accessible windows including upper story windows.
• Make sure someone cannot reach inside the window and remove blocking device.

Alarm Systems

• Anyone hiring an alarm company or an alarm installer should check to see if they are actually licensed required by law.
• Make sure your alarm response call list is up to date.

Holidays
After Christmas Day, don't pile empty gift boxes from your new computer, DVD player, stereo receiver, etc. on the street for trash pickup. Burglars appreciate knowing that you have expensive gifts inside your home for them to steal. Break boxes down or cut them up to conceal the items better. After a lucrative burglary, the chances of being burglarized again increase. Thieves may return to steal the new replacement products.

Lighting

• Report all non-working street lights.
• Use infra-red motion sensor lights on the exterior of your home.
• Use timers on indoor lights. This gives the appearance that someone is home.

Operation Identification

• Identify your valuables by engraving your driver's license number.
• Take pictures and write down serial numbers on your valuables.

Sliding-glass Patio Doors

• Display visible decals; alarm decals, beware of dog decals, or Crime Watch decal.
• Use a secondary blocking device on all sliding glass doors.
• Use anti-lift devices such as through-the-door pins or upper track screws.

Doors & Locks

• Use a heavy-duty, four-screw, strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame.
• Use a solid core or metal door for all entrance points.
• Use a wide-angle 160 degree peephole mounted no higher than 58 inches.