Prevention Works

Summer Safety Tips - Don't Be a Victim of Summertime Crime

As summertime reaches its peak so does household property crime. The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), and McGruff the Crime Dog^® are here to provide you and your loved ones with important safety tips to make your summer safe and enjoyable.

“Summer is the perfect time for a family break, but criminals don’t take a summer break,” said NCPC’s CEO, Ann M. Harkins. “You can avoid becoming a victim to lurking property predators by staying alert and following a few basic prevention measures.”

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, – “Household property crimes exhibited a pattern of seasonal fluctuations from 1993 to 2010. The most common pattern for household property crimes was that victimization occurred at higher rates during the summer than during other seasons.” 

Home Safety Tips

• Be aware of what’s happening in the neighborhood: Download the McGruff Mobile app (available on iTunes or Google Play) to stay up-to-date regarding home and vehicle burglaries near your home. Receive and share information on the virtual neighborhood watch about suspicious activity in your neighborhood and receive alerts when you are away.
• Lock your doors, including the garage door. Unlocked doors are open invitations to intruders.
• Ask a trusted family member, friend, or neighbor to keep a watchful eye on your home or have your mail held at the local post office until your return. 
• Put lights on timers to give the impression that someone is home.
• Don’t post on social media that you are leaving town, and wait post photos after you return from your trip.

Vacation Tips

• Lock your room and remember not to give out your room number or invite strangers into your hotel room.
• Be friendly but be vigilant. Watch for and report any suspicious behavior.
• Plan your route – stay within well-traveled routes and walk in groups.  There’s safety in numbers.
• Keep your belongings secure - Purses should be securely closed, backpacks are zipped, and wallets are kept in your front pocket. When dining in restaurants do not hang your purse or backpack on the back of your chair.

Tips for Parents

• Be proactive – make a backup plan in case the group gets separated during a family outing and have a scheduled meeting place and time.
• If your child or teen will be alone a significant amount of time, have him/her check in with you if they plan to leave the house and when they arrive back home.
• Monitor Internet and social media activity to establish children and teens are visiting appropriate sites and following guidelines. 

Car Safety Tips

• Always lock your doors and roll up your windows when you leave your car.
• Do not leave valuables in the car.  If you must leave prized possessions in your vehicle keep them out of sight or hidden in the trunk.
• Before you get into your car, check the backseat and around the car.  Lock your doors once inside the car.

These prevention tips are simple steps to avoiding summertime crime. If you would like more information, please visit www.ncpc.org. To get the free McGruff Mobile App, download for free on iTunes or Google Play.

Crime Doesn’t Take a Vacation

Amidst of the excitement and commotion that summer brings, we often forget to take precautions when traveling. Before you leave for vacation, the National Crime Prevention Council reminds you that crime doesn’t take a vacation. According to the FBI’s latest National Crime Victimization Survey and Uniform Crime Report, every 12 seconds a home is invaded resulting in 6,646 break-ins every day and over 3.5 million burglaries per year. To make your trip enjoyable, NCPC has compiled summer travel safety tips.

Research Your Destination

• Plan in advance; know where to go and how to get around.
• Only take the credit cards you absolutely need.
• Don’t carry cash, carry traveler’s checks.
• Before leaving make sure everyone in your party knows where to meet in case of being separated, especially children.

Secure Your Home

• Lock all windows and doors. Also, don’t forget to lock the garage door.
• Use variable automatic timers on a few lights to give the impression that someone is home.
• Ask the post office to hold your mail or ask a trusted friend or neighbor to collect it while you are away.
• Use motion-detection lights outside and trim hedges to reduce potential hiding places for burglars.

Communicate Your Plans

• Leave your contact information with a trusted individual in case problems were to arise at home.
• Make sure everyone in your party knows the contact information of this individual in case someone is separated from your party and cannot reach someone at the destination.
• Confirm all hotel reservations before you leave

Traveling

• Teach children to go out to play in groups. Groups are less likely to be approached by strangers.
• Set boundaries where kids can or cannot play.
• Know where your kids will be at all times and with whom they are playing.
• Never leave your luggage unattended. It takes only a moment for someone to snatch it up or confuse it for his/her own.
• When traveling by car, lock your vehicle at all times, especially at gas stations, rest areas, or other public facilities.

If Traveling Abroad

The FBI advises that if you are traveling abroad it is important to only take documents that are necessary and to leave at home copies of the ones you are taking with you. In case documents are stolen, this would make it easier to replace them. They also advise to report your lost or stolen passport immediately to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

In the hotel room

• Never leave your room key unattended where it could be picked up by a stranger, such as at a restaurant or pool.
• Don’t leave rooms unlocked. Insist that everyone carry his or her keys when outside the room.

Using Technology to Your Advantage

Even though one of the cardinal rules of vacationing is to leave your cell phone at home, it may come in handy when you find yourself lost, or in the case of an emergency. There are several mobile apps designed to ensure safe and easy travels such as different GPS and monitoring systems. There are also apps that allow you to silently contact emergency help if you are in a dangerous situation

Using Public Wi-Fi

When using public Wi-Fi make sure it is from a trusted source. Personal information can be extracted through unsecure, public connections, which can often be fakes. Through these connections opportunists could monitor the data you send and receive.

Crime is soaring in Airports

With last minute vacations before school starts and business trips, there’s been crime soaring at airports. The New York Post states: “Larcenies are up nearly 30 percent from the first half of 2010 and the arrest rate is a pathetic 9 percent.” Included in the figures are thefts from baggage carousels, swiped property left unattended, and thefts by baggage handlers and other employees. The most frequently stolen items are laptops and iPads.

In order to prevent this from happening to your personal belongings there are some crime prevention tips to follow:

• Carry your purse close to your body, or your wallet in an inside front pocket. Consider wearing a money pouch under your clothes.
• Never leave your bags unattended or behind your back where you cannot see them.
• Avoid displaying expensive items such as laptops, cameras, jewelry, and luggage that might draw attention. Your aim should be to blend in with the crowd, Not Stand Out.
• Stay especially alert and watch your bags carefully at all times. Don’t let anyone but uniformed airline personnel handle or watch your bags.

By following these few crime prevention tips, you can lower your chance of getting your belongings stolen. For more information on traveling tips please visit www.ncpc.org .

Tis the Season – Be Aware and Be Safe

The holidays are now upon us. This is the time of season where families often gather together, people are out and about shopping for gifts, the malls and grocery stores are packed, and the excitement swells. This is also the time of year when thieves try to take advantage and look for opportunities to strike and make your holidays miserable. I’ve been a victim in the past. It was as quick as someone running past me in the mall and snatching my packages out of my hands that I just purchased.

Now more than ever is the time to be conscious of your surroundings and protective of your wares. Whether you are traveling out of town, just out for the evening, or shopping by yourself or with children, below are a few precautions to help make your holidays a safer one.

If you are traveling:

• Put an automatic timer on your lights
• Ask a neighbor to check up on your home
• Don’t forget to have your mail and newspaper delivery stopped

If you are out of the house:

• Turn on lights and music or the TV so it looks as if someone is home
• Be sure that your doors and windows are locked
• Don’t display your gifts where they can be seen from the outside
• If you plan to have packages delivered to your home, make sure you are home to accept them. If not, as a neighbor or ask that the package be sent to the nearest post office

If you are shopping:

• Stay alert and be aware of what’s going on around you
• Park in a well-lighted space
• Be sure to lock your car, close windows, and hide shopping bags and gifts in the trunk
• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash; pay with a check or credit card whenever possible
• Don’t overburden yourself with packages
• Deter pickpockets and purse-snatchers. Carry a purse close to your body in the front. If you are carrying a wallet, place it in an inside coat or front pants pocket
• If shopping with kids, have a plan in case you get separated. For the older children, have a central meeting spot designated. For the younger children teach them to go to a store clerk or security guard if you get separated. Be sure they know your name (not just mommy and daddy), cell phone number, and their address. Go over the dangers of strangers with them so they know who not to talk to or follow
• Check receipts to see whether your full credit card number appears. If a receipt has your full number on it, take a pen and thoroughly scratch it out
• Double check that you have your credit cards and check book after you pay for your items

By following these tips, you can reduce your stress during the busy holiday season and be safe at the same time. Whatever holiday you celebrate, make it a safe one.

Happy Holidays!

This Thanksgiving “Lock It or Lose It”

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times for travelers as many of us hit the road to share the holiday with friends and family. And due to the economy, more of us will be traveling by automobile. According to Triple AAA projections, there will be additional 2.1 percent motorists when compared to last year.

Many holiday travel tips will help you on your journey, but I want to focus on how to keep your vehicle safe as you join those on U.S. highways to travel often unfamiliar routes and to new places that hold potential risks for your vehicle.

While many of us have read the reports indicating an overall drop in crime across the country, we continue to read and hear about increases in personal property crime, especially theft of or from automobiles. The Roanoke Police Department recently launched the “Safer City Roanoke” campaign to address this problem, an expansion of their “Lock It or Lose It” Initiative that was started four years ago.

As you travel this holiday season, protect your vehicle with these tips from McGruff:

• Never leave your vehicle unattended with keys in the ignition.
• Lock your doors and keep the windows closed, even when parked in front of your home.
• Park in busy and well-lighted areas.
• Do not leave valuables—GPS, GPS holder, cell phone—in plain view.
• Equip your vehicle with an alarm or other anti-theft device.
• Never leave your vehicle registration or other personal documents in your vehicle.
• Report auto theft immediately. Provide local authorities with the make/model/license plate and Vehicle ID number.

To utilize these and other crime prevention tips in your community, please visit our home page at www.ncpc.org and see our Rapid Response for Law Enforcement/Community Outreach Tools. NCPC has recently added ten new topics in five languages that can be localized by your police department to help prevent crime in your community.

Have A Safe Summer!

It’s that time of year again; the time that people, especially children, look forward to the most. Yes, you guessed it – it’s summer break time! The time when families go on vacation, children are out of school, the weather is warm and inviting, and the beach is calling. It’s a much needed time for children and parents to relax from the demands of school and work. It can be a time when one may let his or her guard down and not be as attentive as he or she should be.

Unfortunately, criminals do not take a break. Many times, criminals may see this as an opportunity to take advantage of relaxed vigilance. In recent weeks in the Washington, DC, area, sexual predators have entered unlocked doors and windows and preyed upon women. A high school student was sexually assaulted and almost abducted while walking on a wooded path to high school. And in Prince Georges County, a county just outside of the District, home invasion robberies have doubled.

As summertime kicks in, let’s remember to be safe and to teach and remind our children how to be safe. On NCPC’s website, there are hundreds of safety tips directed toward every audience and almost every topic. Below are just some of the examples:

Travel Tips

• If you are about to travel, check out our vacation tips (pdf) and our preparedness guide (pdf) for travelers.
• Don’t let your guard down when driving or filling up the car for that road trip. Look at these tips for car theft (pdf) and gas station theft prevention.

Safety Tips for Children and Youth

• Have your children check out the bike safety and streetwise tips (pdf).
• If your child will be home alone, share these tips with them.
• Review these facts with your teens about how NOT to be a victim of crime.

Safety Tips for Parents and Adults

• If your children will be spending more time on the Internet this summer, share these tips with them to help keep them safe.
• Before you go on vacation, use these convenient checklists for apartments (pdf) and homes (pdf) to help prevent intruders.
• If you want to prevent yourself from being a victim of violent crime, check out this list.

The bottom line is that we all need to continue to be attentive to our surroundings. Protect yourself and your loved ones by reducing the chance for criminals to victimize you and your family. NCPC wants you to have a fun and safe summer!