Madison Park

Westover Police

Crime Prevention Techniques......Are you using them?

Also, I would like to encourage each of you to pay special attention to crime prevention techniques. These include:

n Never leave your keys in your vehicle, even for “just a minute”.

n Do not leave any valuables in your parked cars—a thief will gladly smash a window just for a handful of change.

n Empty your glove box and center console of all items and leave them open so that anyone walking by will see that there is nothing of value to steal.

n Record all the serial numbers of items you keep in your home and cars. Most importantly: GPS units, TVs, stereos, video consoles (Playstation and X-Box 360s), firearms, power tools, and other electronic items.

n Remember to close your blinds! There is no need to advertise the fact that you are not home or that you have a new TV in your living room.

n Install motion sensor controlled outdoor lighting.

n Cut back all shrubs that block the view of windows from the road.

n Install alarm systems. If a monitored system is not an option, there are numerous inexpensive systems on the market that are not monitored by an alarm company but will still sound alarms and alert neighbors. Of course it helps if you actually turn the system on….

n If you have an alarm system on your house….advertise it. Post stickers on every door and window.

n Observe your surroundings and be a “nosy neighbor”. Call 911 if you observe anyone acting suspiciously. Please try to give a detailed description to the 911 operator, as well as the vehicle tag number for suspicious cars.