Category: Safety Tips

A few common sense safety reminders to make sure your holidays aren’t ruined by crime.

Leaving town for the holidays?

Sign up for Vacation Watch. It’s one of the many benefits of being a subscriber to MWSF!

Make sure a neighbor or close-by relative or friend knows about it, so they can keep an eye on your dwelling and report any suspicious activity that may take place there. See below.

Halt the delivery to your home of mail, packages and newspapers. A doorstep strewn with several days’ worth of mail and other materials can be a sure signal to a potential burglar that no one is inside.

Staying home for the holidays?

There’s nothing wrong with proudly displaying indoor and outdoor lights and other decorations. But leaving a wide window view of a pile of presents – while you are asleep or out for a few hours – can be a tempting invitation to thieves.

Place branded boxes in garbage bags or inside an unmarked box before leaving them for trash and recycling pick-up. They can signal to burglars what’s under your Christmas tree.

Doing some last minute online shopping for gifts?

Package thieves are known to follow follow UPS and FedEx trucks to steal packages shortly after delivery. Consider having packages delivered to your office or to someone who will be home to receive delivery. Or require a signature confirmation at delivery.

Neighbors are the best defense. Give your neighbors permission to remove and safeguard your packages until you come home.

Don’t leave regular mail sitting out all day long. It’s a clear sign that no one’s home or staying alert!

Check your front porch frequently for mail and packages and watch for email alerts from shippers. Speak to you mail carrier and ask them to ring the doorbell when a package is left. Also, consider tipping your mail carrier this year. It’s a hard job!

Planning on partaking in holiday festivities around the neighborhood?

Alcoholic drinks have a place in many holiday celebrations. Please drink in moderation and never drive a vehicle while under the influence.
Embrace the holiday spirit. Be an extra nice driver in heavy traffic. Say extra kind words to children, older folks and all in between.

Enjoy, be safe, and Happy Holidays from MWSF!

See something suspicious? Call 911 for crimes in progress. The Precinct One Constable Dispatch number is 713-755-7628 or alert our deputies via the Constable’s Office.

It’s called “sliding” and its growing in Houston. Police say it is an easy crime of opportunity that requires no tools and no confrontation and relies on our distraction. The theft happens in just seconds and usually goes unnoticed until the thief is long gone. The thief often arrives earlier and waits for the right victim. Or sometimes he pulls in as you get involved with the buttons on the pump. He “slides” below your sight, opens the door and grabs whatever is there – purse, phone, laptop, personal papers – whatever he can reach.

According to statistics, women are the victims more often because they typically leave their purse in the car and take out just the credit card they need for gas. And most people, men or women, typically don’t lock their car while filling their tank. Thieves tend to target neighborhoods that feel “safe”, where drivers let their guards down.

It’s an easy crime to prevent:

1. Always remove your keys and lock your doors when standing outside of your car.
2. Keep valuables out of site – under the seat or in the console.
3. Don’t let your phone distract you.  Pay attention to who is nearby.

Halloween safety tips for your trick-or-treaters & your home:

1. If you’re driving during trick-or-treat hours, keep your eyes on the road and stay distraction free. Avoid using cell phones and other electronic devices.
2. Continually scan crosswalks and intersections. Streets don’t empty out just because kids are outside in droves. Please yield to traffic and make sure kids don’t run into the middle of the street – at least, without looking first.
3. Before kids descend on sweets like a cloud of locusts, have them act like locusts in one way: Travel in swarms rather than one by one. That provides safety in numbers, and the littlest ones may find a hand to hold.
4. Remind younger children not to talk to strangers. While this may seem obvious, kids get excited when it’s time to trick-or-treat.
5. Only go to homes with a porch light on an NEVER enter a home or car for a treat.
6. If you have older children and you’re not going with them, find out what route they plan to travel and check up on them periodically via a call or text message.
7. If your local community’s trick-or treat hours are after daylight, make sure your children have a flashlight, glow stick, or reflective material attached to their costumes.  Reflective tape, stickers, glow sticks, and other affordable items help trick-or-treaters to be seen in the dark, especially by drivers.
8. If kids wear masks or wigs, the accessories should have eye holes big enough to allow unlocked vision.  It’s hard enough jostling for goodies in the dark.  Limited vision can be dangerous for a trick-or-treater, even ones pretending to be a superhero with x-ray vision.
9. Flouncy costume skirts, dresses, and trouser can get in the way, too, forcing kids to lose their footing.
10. Toy swords? Sticks? Toy guns? NO.
11. Always examine candy for defects in the manufacturers’ packaging. Encourage your kids not to eat homemade goodies.
    

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12. Clear your sidewalk and walkway.  Trick-or-treaters are too busy counting candy to pay close attention to where they’re walking, so it’s critical to survey your yard for potential trip and slip hazards. Be sure your yard is free of tripping hazards like hoses and sprinklers, clear walkways of loose gravel, and be sure to clean moss off steps. If your home has an irrigation system, turn the system off well in advance of the big night so your lawn and walkways have a chance to dry.
13. Avoid using candles.  A glowing jack-o’-lantern makes your home warm and welcoming to candy seekers, but using a candle to illuminate a pumpkin can be dangerous. Costumes, paper decorations and ornamental straw can easily catch on fire. Instead of a traditional candle, use one powered by batteries.
14. A dimly lit entryway helps set the spooky mood of Halloween, but it also increases the chance of an accident. Make sure the exterior lights of your home are working, and consider turning on flood lights to illuminate the darkest areas of your yard. Even if you’re not going to be home, leave on lights for safety reasons or make sure your motion sensor lights are active to dissuade unsavory characters from vandalizing your home. And, if you won’t be there, make sure you set your security system, just to be safe.
15. Barking dogs not only scare trick-or-treaters of every age away, they also present a danger. A dog that breaks away from your home might not bite, but he could knock down a toddler or scare a teen right into the street, causing even more danger. Keep all pets securely confined inside your home until the hustle and bustle of the night has passed.
16. Maybe you won’t be home on Halloween or perhaps it’s difficult for you to answer the door, so you’ve put out a bowl of candy for kids to help themselves. While this seems like the right thing to do, someone could taint the candy. It’s probably unlikely, but it’s definitely not worth taking the chance.
17. If you’re staying home, clean out the garage and store your car securely in it. When you consider potential vehicle vandalism and theft, your car is best kept in the garage on Halloween.
18. While nearly all trick-or-treaters are innocent kids out to collect as much candy as they can possibly carry, you must still be cautious of whom you open the door for. If you have an uneasy feeling about the person approaching your door, don’t open it. And as the barrage of trick-or-treaters fades to just a few here and there, it’s a good idea to stop opening the door for the night.
    

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT began in 1984 to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, police-community partnerships, and neighborhood camaraderie, as well as to send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Crime Stoppers of Houston is proud to support all of our communities on NATIONAL NIGHT OUT.

Did you know?

• Every 15 seconds a burglary occurs, with the average dollar loss being $2,251.
• Homes without security systems are up to 300% more likely to be broken into.
• Most break-ins occur during the day when you are at work.
• 95% of burglars surveyed would run if they met a large, unwelcoming dog face-to-face.
• Your local law enforcement department provides home security checks.
• Getting to know your neighbors is a great defense to keep your neighborhood safe.
• A neighborhood with mowed lawns, flowers, and freshly painted homes looks like it’s cared for and this alone can help deter crime.

1.  Entrust a neighbor or a friend who lives close by with an extra key to your home in case of emergencies. It is not recommended to hide a key around your home.

2.  Keep shrubbery trimmed away from windows. It will add to your curb appeal and won’t allow someone to hide. Maintain outdoor lighting and landscaping.

3.  Install security cameras and make a habit of using your alarm and locking windows and doors, including interior doors to an attached garage.

Tips for Parents

*  Know the location of your children.  Create a system of communication for knowing where they are or when they reach their destination.

*  Set limits on where they can and cannot go in the neighborhood.  Consider potential dangers such as busy roads, abandoned houses, railroad tracks, registered sex offenders, etc.

*  Familiarize your child with the neighborhood.  Show them safe places they can go if they need help such as a neighbor’s home, the fire station, police station, trusted stores or business offices.

*  Be sure your child has memorized your home address and phone number along with the phone number of another trusted adult.

*  Remind your child to “check first” before they leave the house.

KEEP YOUR HOME SAFE:  Prevention is Key! 

Most neighborhood crimes that occurr are crimes of opportunity.   Unlocked cars and easy access to you home are a burglar’s dream. We cannot take for granted how safe we feel in our homes and community.  Anything from running a quick errand and leaving your purse or briefcase in the car, forgetting to turn on your alarm or forgetting to lock your windows could put you at risk.

Do Something Tips

How to Report a Tip – CRIME STOPPERS

1. Call 713-222-TIPS (8477)
2. Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637)
3. Go to crime-stoppers.org