Crime Prevention Tips

Neighborhood Safety

Friendship can be a strong bond and need not be reciprocal or acknowledged.  Good Neighbors watch out for their neighbors, without intruding upon their privacy.   Remember you need not like or approve of another’s lifestyle to be a good neighbor to others and endeavor to assist them within the parameters permitted you.

If your neighbors are willing, you may establish either an informal or formal neighborhood watch arrangement:

• Leave a key with a neighbor who can be contacted in the event that you should you find yourself needing assistance in an emergency.

  • Your neighbor can beckon help for you or enter your house to "check to make sure you turned off the stove", feed your animals if your return has been delayed or check on suspicious sights, sounds or smells.

  • Give your travel itinerary to a neighbor, and if you change your plans, advise your neighbor. Exchange cell phone numbers.  Advise your neighbor whom to contact if you should go missing.

• If you plan on being absent from your home for an extended period, you may encourage your neighbor to park a car in your driveway to give it the appearance of being "lived in."

• Set up an e-mail list of neighbors and keep each other informed. This is especially helpful if you want to relay information without having to participate in lengthy chats with a number of people. Everyone is busy and e-mail is an efficient way of communicating. Try to keep your neighborhood mailing brief and businesslike so that it won’t get the stigma of "junk mail" attached to it.

• Open your blinds during the day so that you can "see" what is going on in your neighborhood. Attune yourself to the familiar goings and comings and the patterns of your surroundings so that you "know" when something is amiss.

• Keep your shrubbery and trees pruned so that your neighbors could see someone trying to break into your home. Don’t leave ladders outside.  Install lighting. Don’t leave notes on your door - announcing you are away.