Members of the Wauwatosa Police Department’s Community Support Division, with backup provided by the folks at WauwatosaNow.com, are now blogging. We will be providing you with an ongoing series of crime prevention tips, any current crime trends as well as pertinent news and notes as it relates to your Police Department.
These tips come from the National Crime Prevention Council in Washington DC. I am posting them as a refresher.
Is Your Family Safe?
Tips for National Family Month
Washington, DC – Families across the country are celebrating National Family Month during the month of May. To mark this important occasion, the National Crime Prevention Council and its icon McGruff the Crime Dog®, have some tips about how families can stay safe at home, on the computer, and in their neighborhoods.
Securing your Home and Protecting your Property
• Lock your doors and windows. Research shows that more than 60 percent of all burglaries show no sign of forced entry. Pick burglar-resistant, high-security windows.
• Use automatic timers to turn on lights, radio, or the television when you are not at home.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to watch your home and pick up your mail and newspapers when you are out of town. You can also ask your local post office to temporarily stop your mail delivery.
• Your landscaping should provide maximum visibility to and from your house. Trim shrubbery that could conceal criminal activity near doors and windows.
• Install exterior lighting near porches, rear and side doorways, garage doors, and all other points of entry. Outdoor lighting can eliminate hiding places and deter burglars.
Neighborhood Safety
• Join a Neighborhood Watch group to discuss solutions to local crime problems. If one doesn’t exist, you can start one with help from your local law enforcement.
• Know that route that your children take to and from school. Point out McGruff Houses along the way.
• Be alert in the neighborhood. Call the police or, if you’re a kid, tell a trusted adult about anything you see that seems suspicious.
• Get to know your neighbors. Good neighbors are one of your least expensive defenses against crime and one of your most effective, too.
• Report problem areas and ask the police to increase patrols of your neighborhood hot spots.
Internet Safety
• Keep your personal information private and your passwords secure. Change your passwords every 90 days to keep cyber criminals away.
• Beware of “phishing.” These are email requests purporting to be from your bank, credit card company, or other trusted sources that ask you to “verify” passwords, bank account numbers, or credit card information. Don’t be fooled.
• Use only secure websites for purchases. Look for a secure padlock icon at the bottom of the browser window or an “https” in the URL address.
• Before surfing the Internet, secure your personal computers by updating your security software. Everyone should have antivirus, antispyware, and antispam software installed.
