GPD reminds residents about crime prevention

Friday, November 22, 2013

As the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season approaches, the Greencastle Police Department reminds residents to think seriously about crime prevention.

All residents who have any questions or concerns should feel free to contact the Greencastle Police Department, Assistant Chief Brian Hopkins stressed.

When shopping, here is some key "information" you want to protect:

Your credit card/ATM numbers -- Be wary of "shoulder surfers" as you take out cash from ATMs or pay for items with your credit card. Make sure to put receipts in a safe place.

The fact that you may be carrying a large amount of cash -- If carrying a large amount of cash, keep a portion of the money separate from your wallet in case you get pickpocketed or lose your wallet.

Expensive items you recently purchased -- If you brought so many presents that you have to take a trip to the car to unload your packages in order to buy more, make sure you place the items in your trunk and out of sight. It's also smart to relocate to another parking space.

Other holiday crime tips:

Don't let your holiday trash make you a target. Boxes from expensive items like jewelry or electronics (such as computer, television and stereo boxes) left curbside for trash collection provide good indicators to potential burglars about what high value items are located in the household. Your trash may help determine which house thieves may target.

Break down the boxes, throw them in a bag, or put them out just before trash collection time.

If you are going to be gone for days or hours, it's important to not let potential criminals know that you are not at your home and even more importantly, where they can find you. The rule of thumb is very simple: If criminals know where you are, then they know where you're not.

For that very reason, remember the following suggestions when going on vacation or away from your home for any reason:

-- Never tell anyone other than trusted family, friends or neighbors when you are going out of town.

-- If you call to stop your newspaper delivery or mail, you have just alerted everyone who works at the Post Office and Newspaper that your home is going to be unoccupied during the specified dates. That information may be inadvertently shared with someone who decides to burglarize your home while you are away. A safe alternative is to have a family member or trusted neighbor collect your newspaper and/or mail to keep them from piling up.

-- It's always a good idea to leave information where you can be contacted in case of an emergency with a neighbor who can keep watch over your house.

-- When away for extended periods of time, try to leave your house with the appearance you are still there. For example, ask a trusted neighbor to use your garbage can on trash pick-up day so that it appears you are at home as normal.

Other examples include:

-- Use automatic timers to rotate several lights, radio and television rather than leaving a single light on in the house. Select different rooms in the house to have the lights turn on and off at various times.

-- Don't close all of your blinds and drapes as that not only looks different than normal, but also gives concealment to a burglar if they were to get inside your home.

-- Have the neighbor park his or her car in your driveway.

-- Never announce on Facebook or other forms of social media that you are going to be away from home for any period of time. While social media is a great way to share exciting information with your friends, it can also be used by criminals to track your whereabouts.

Other tips include:

-- Never check in at locations while out and about.

-- Never announce on Facebook that you are going on vacation or leaving your home.

-- Never post photos of yourself at parties or while shopping.

-- Never post photos of gifts such as jewelry or other expensive items.

-- Never post photos of yourself at vacation destination places. If you want to post the photos, do it when you return home with a caption that says, "Had a great time on vacation but glad to be back home."

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