Crime, Safety and Quality of Life

Crime Fighting Tips

Statistically, there are two car break-ins a day on average in our B district precinct. On average, there are 35-40 burglaries in the district per month, with flat screen TV’s the item of choice to steal. While we are in one of the city’s lowest crime areas, that is no consolation when something happens to you, someone you know or tenants in a building.

Things to do to Make Your Environs Safer:

• Leave nothing that looks to be of value on car seats, and take portable GPS and charger units and cords with you. Wipe traces of suction cups from windshields if taking a GPS in for the night. Don’t leave small change visible because, police say, smash ’n grab thieves will even go after less than a dollar in coins. Be mindful that overhanging tree foliage and diminished sidewalk lighting offer car break-in opportunities not present at other times of the year. If you see someone walking down the street peering into cars, casing them for valuables, call 9-1-1 and give as complete a description as possible.
  
  
• Don’t leave anything, even of minimal value, outside over night. Bring in cushions from lawn furniture and chain items together that you leave outside in order to make it more difficult for their being taken. Lock side gates leading to the back yard. Don’t leave bicycles chained to front porch railings: thieves travel with bolt cutters. If you have visitors on bicycles, make sure they do not park a bike without securing it. Don’t leave purses in the trunk of cars while taking groceries inside.
  
  
• Lock downstairs windows at night and when gone during the day. (As an added protection, cut a piece of 2”x2” trim the height of the upper window and insert it so that the lower window cannot be lifted.) Securely mount portable air conditioner window units so that they cannot be pushed into rooms by opportunistic thieves. Put deadbolt locks on doors. Renters, ask your landlord to do so and have them fix window locks. Police suggest the installation of motion lights or a motion detector (especially at the rear of your property), and that you look into the feasibility of video surveillance cameras.
  
  
• Be mindful of your own security when going outside after dark. Lock doors behind you. Don’t carry unnecessary valuables or cash. Have an action plan in the unlikely event that you are accosted. And, if jogging or walking a dog on a regular basis, look into the feasibility of someone accompanying you as daylight hours grow shorter.
  
  
• If you see something suspicious, call 9-1-1. Crime prevention starts with us. District police welcome the calls because the more that come in, the greater the resources they will be given. That translates into a safer neighborhood for us all. District police are understaffed and at times stretched thin. Other neighborhoods are coping with blatant drug dealing or gang activity, which gives them a priority for policing.