Common Sense and Cell Phone Can Protect Your Neighborhood
Some common sense tips that can help protect your neighborhood from crime without getting you into trouble.
The Trayvon Martin shooting and subsequent trial focused attention on the role of a neighborhood watch and the fight against crime. While arming yourself and following a suspicious person may be overzealous and get you far more involved in a situation than you ever imagined, there are a lot of things you can do to help stop crime in your community.
1. Stay alert. To avoid being vulnerable, you have to stay alert and aware of the situation around you. A $400 mugger magnet that diminishes your situational awareness is a bad idea. Pull the earbuds out of your ears and put your smartphone or MP3 player away. Now, look around.
2. Notice unusual people and behavior. As a private citizen, you are lowed to profile people for your own personal safety. If you are in a public park and you see a lone male backed into a far off parking space, he is likely to be there for one of two things: a drug deal or illicit sexual activity. If you see someone who looks like someone you saw on COPS, New Jack City, The Shield, or Deliverance, you should keep your distance and keep an eye on them.
3. Notice things that seem out of place. Be alert for suspicious packages, vehicles, or workers that look out of place. When I used mass transit, I was impressed that a bus driver noticed an abandoned briefcase at the bus depot and started asking where the owner was. Fortunately, other riders quickly identified the owner as an office worker who had simply left it behind momentarily while getting a pass from the information kiosk.
4. Report illegal activity. The "Don't snitch movement" is the product of criminals and their community of accessories and suppoters. If you aren't a criminal, you shouldn't express solidarity with those who are. If you want to live in a nice neighborhood that isn't full of thugs, you need to report every illegal activity you see. The police can handle it from there. There is no need to try and be a hero.
5. Don't encourage panhandlers. When an able-bodied person tells you a sob story and asks you for money on the street, they may well be pulling a scam. In our community, one enterprising gentleman has been pretending to be on a cellphone and have car trouble for two years.
6. Watch out for neighbors and their property. If you live in an area for awhile, you"ll learn where people live, their routines, and what cars they drive. You should recognize when a stranger is ransacking a neighbor's home or car.
7. Keep an eye on work trucks and moving vans. Commercial work vans come in a variety of colors with the most popular ones being peophile white and burglar blue. When they aren't emblazoned with a commercial livery, you should take notice and be alert. In most cases, there is nothing to report, but if your neighbors are on vacation and you see a commercial van, you may want to watch and see if metal thieves are taking your neighbors air conditioning unit.
8. Ask for extra police patrols for holidays. If you are going on vacation, or you've seen a lot of suspicious activity, or there has been a rash of burglaries, or your neighborhood seems especially empty during a holiday season, there is no harm in calling the police non-emergency number and asking for increased police patrols in your area.
9. Participate in neighborhood watch programs. If your local police department puts on a neighborhood watch meeting, go and participate. It's a great opportunity to learn what criminals are up to in your area and get tips on how to avoid being a target for criminals. You don't have to patrol your neighborhood; you just have to report what you see.
It is time to stop tolerating crime and criminals. All it takes is a commitment to keep your eyes open and dial the police non-emergency or emergency number as appropriate.
