As we start a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your collaboration in making your communities safer. Preliminary crime statistics (to-date) show that the Raleigh Police Department’s Southwest District saw a decrease in both violent crime and property crime in 2011. I believe that your efforts in crime prevention and community watch have contributed to that success.
To that end, as we find ourselves starting a new year, I would like to offer some tips for crime prevention and personal protection. I could provide dozens of tips, but I tried to include just a few of the least-known or most-neglected. I’ve also tried to include some more relevant tips for our modern times. You might have seen some of these tips before, and some might be new. Whatever the case, I hope that you will review them carefully, and implement them when you can. I am certain that with your continued efforts in “target hardening,” we can continue to keep our crime rates low.
Property crime tips
- Lock your cars. Nearly 100% of our District’s theft-from-vehicle cases involved unlocked cars. Also, try to remove valuables from plain view. Instead, store them in locked containers or trunk areas. We recently arrested a suspect who was caught with others while breaking into cars. During his interview, he stated “We don’t break into locked cars. It’s too noisy, and takes too long. We just move on to the next car…we know it will probably be unlocked.”
- Record model numbers and SERIAL NUMBERS of your personal property valued at $50 or more. Store a copy of this list in at least two separate and secure locations. If valuable property later gets stolen, and you can provide the serial number, we can enter it into an international database of stolen property. Recovery rates of stolen property with serial numbers are notably higher than those without. Additionally, in the case of a fire or natural disaster, a detailed list of any damaged property may expedite an accurate insurance claim.
- Use quality locks on all of your residential doors and windows. We often fortify our front doors, and neglect the others. In the majority of our District’s burglaries, the suspects forced entry at a point in the rear or side of a house. This benefits the burglar as it is usually out of view, but historically, it also involved less-secure doors or windows. Remember that our District’s Crime Prevention Officer will gladly perform a security survey of your residence.
- Get to know your neighbors. Someone who has a friendly connection is more likely to look after, or notice problems with your residence. However, good trust is built over time–don’t immediately offer a key or significant personal information to someone you just met. Neighborhoods with retirees; stay-at-home parents; work-at-home people; or persons working shifts can have a highly-effective neighborhood watch…if…they are encouraged and engaged.
- Don’t advertise on social media. When you are away from home, do not post that fact on social media sites. This includes vacations, but also your other commitments (classes, appointments, conferences, etc.). Wait awhile, and post everything after you are back. No matter how “locked down” you think your profile might be, you cannot control secondary dissemination (including unintentional). A Tweet like “Skiing in Vail” or “Stuck in traffic in Charlotte” may be interesting to your friends, but it is also useful to less-noble folks as well.
Personal crime tips
- Do not walk or run outside with audio-player earbuds in both ears. Similarly, do not watch movies on your iPod, etc. while not stationary. This precaution is for traffic safety as well as personal safety. We have had a number of robbery or assault victims that did not notice their assailant’s proximity because they were distracted by personal audio or video devices. On this note, let me kill an “urban-legend-crime-prevention” technique: Do not talk on your phone (simulated or not) while walking in a precarious situation. This does not “scare” a potential assailant away. It is a cognitive divided-attention task that saps your awareness, and your problem-solving potential. An assailant knows that you are distracted, and even better to him, you have at least one hand encumbered by holding the phone. Also, by doing so, you have advertised to a crook that you have a phone to steal.
- Do not walk alone at night, or while in unfamiliar territory. Practice the buddy system. Similarly, if you know that you are going to a party or bar, pre-arrange a reliable way home (designated driver who is a friend). Do not trust that you will find a taxi, nor get a ride with a stranger. The vast majority of our robbery-from-person cases occur with lone victims, between the hours of 10pm and 3am, with many victims having some level of intoxication.
- Be sure your street (or apartment) number is clearly posted on your mailbox, house, or door. Use numbers that contrast with the background, and are of sufficient size to be read from the street, at night. Sometimes, residents will replace mailboxes, renovate or repair, and forget to replace their address on their residence. This is vital for first responders to quickly arrive at the correct address.
As I mentioned before, I could provide many more tips regarding a multitude of different crimes. If you need further advice or information, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff.