A Collection of Crime Prevention Tips

• Do what you can to make your home less inviting to thieves. If it looks difficult to enter, is difficult to enter, and is well-maintained, chances are they will try somewhere else.
• Place sufficient lighting in the front/back of your home and garage.
• Use deadbolt locks as secondary locks on all doors. Ensure you have 2 1/2 - 3 inch screws in the door frame strike plate to reinforce deadbolt security.
• Fortify your windows and sliding glass doors with secondary locks or dowels that fit securely in windows. Dowels can be made of wood, PVC pipe or metal.  Secure your garage doors with a padlock or a sliding/cane bolt. Lock the door that leads into the house from the garage.
• Get to know your neighbors. You are more apt to look out for each others' homes and property if you know each other.
• Trim all landscaping below windows to avoid concealment areas.
• Make sure your address is visible from the street so emergency personnel can quickly respond.
• Don't let mail or newspapers pile up.  It is a telltale sign that you are gone. Arrange for a friend or neighbor to collect these items in your absence. 
• Get a dog. Dogs are a good deterrent to burglars.

Scams come in many forms: texts, emails, letters, and lots of calls. Scammers plot schemes from tech support scams to fake check scams to try to knock us off balance just long enough to take advantage. They want to get our money and personal information, like account numbers and our Social Security numbers. How can we fight back? By sharing your story and reporting what happened to the FTC.

Telling your story can help your friends, your family, your community, and others avoid those scams. That keeps money in their pockets and their information out of the hands of criminals. And reporting those scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov helps our investigators use your information to build cases against scammers – and helps stop them.

• Lock your financial documents and records in a safe place at home, and lock your wallet or purse in a safe place at work. Keep your information secure from roommates or workers who come into your home.
• Limit what you carry. When you go out, take only the identification, credit, and debit cards you need. Leave your Social Security card at home. Make a copy of your Medicare card and black out all but the last four digits on the copy. Carry the copy with you  — unless you are going to use your card at the doctor’s office.
• Before you share information at your workplace, a business, your child's school, or a doctor's office, ask why they need it, how they will safeguard it, and the consequences of not sharing.
• Shred receipts, credit offers, credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks, bank statements, expired charge cards, and similar documents when you don’t need them any longer.
• Destroy the labels on prescription bottles before you throw them out. Don’t share your health plan information with anyone who offers free health services or products.
• Take outgoing mail to post office collection boxes or the post office. Promptly remove mail that arrives in your mailbox. If you won’t be home for several days, request a vacation hold on your mail.
• When you order new checks, don’t have them mailed to your home, unless you have a secure mailbox with a lock.
• Regularly check your credit reports (free once a year!) Equifax at 800-525-6285, Experian at 888-397-3742, and TransUnion at 800-680-7289.

• Be sure to Lock all vehicle doors and secure windows and convertible or soft tops, even at home, in your garage, even if you're only going to be gone for a few minutes.
• Never leave valuables in your vehicle (including cell phones, purses, radios, garage door openers, cameras, chargers and other accessories, clothes, bags, paperwork, etc.)
• Park in well-lighted areas.
• Trust your instincts!  If you hear something suspicious (glass shattering, for example) or see someone looking in multiple vehicles, call 911 immediately. You are the eyes and ears of the police.
• Have an alarm installed, and place a sticker on your window indicating your vehicle is protected. 
• Avoid parking next to trucks, SUVs, vehicles with tinted windows, or anything that can serve as a shield for thieves. The more open space and light you have, the better.

Graffiti is a problem and you can help!

Graffiti is an act of vandalism that should be taken seriously. It can lower property values, drive away business, and make communities feel less safe. Taking prompt action to report and remove graffiti is the best way to prevent it from recurring.

Graffiti Prevention Tips

You may decease the chance of having to removal graffiti by preventing from happening. Here are some tips for preventing graffiti on your property:

• Plant vegetation to make barrier
• Install a fence to restrict access
• Improve lighting
• Limit access to roofs by moving climbable objects
• Add surveillance signage or cameras
• Use Graffiti resistant materials or coating
• Paint a mural

Graffiti Removal Tips

Leaving graffiti instead of cleaning it up can attract more acts of vandalism. Immediate removal denies the offender the satisfaction of seeing their unwanted message. Here are a few ways to clean up graffiti on your property:

• Paint it over
• Remove with hardware store products
• Pressure washing

• Reduce or eliminate opportunities: avoid distractions like cell phones, headphones, and music players. Avoid overburdening yourself with multiple bags and heavy parcels.  
• Increase your awareness: When walking, use well-lit and well-populated areas. When approaching your car, make sure no one is hiding in or around your vehicle, and when parking your vehicle, always park in well-lit areas.
• Trust your instincts.
• Be prepared. Think, don't panic. There is no single action to take if you are attacked. Your best defense is to be prepared and know your options and capabilities.

• Have at least two employees open and close the business. Businesses are vulnerable during opening and closing because fewer employees and customers are around, and cash is often handled at these times.
• Maintain as little cash as possible and make frequent and varied bank deposits. Post signs stating there is limited cash on the property.
• Leave cash registers empty and open after hours.
• Place a surveillance camera behind the cash register facing the front counter.
• Arrange advertisements, flyers, displays, signs, posters, or other displays so that they do not obstruct the view of the register from inside or outside your business. The police patrolling your store need to see in.
• Stay alert! Be aware of who is in your business and where they are. Watch for people who loiter without buying anything. Also, be mindful of suspicious activity outside your place of business. Write down the license plate numbers of suspicious vehicles.
• Greet customers as they enter your business. Look them in the eye and ask them if they need help. Your attention will discourage a robber as they don't like to be noticed or have personal interactions. 
• Adequately light the interior and all exterior sides of your business.
• Cooperate with the robber for your safety and the safety of others. Comply with a robber's demands while remaining calm and thinking clearly. Make mental notes of the robber's physical description and other observations important to law enforcement officers.