Summer officially began Monday, June 21, 2010. Longer day light hours mean more time for families to enjoy outside activities. It also means more opportunities for criminals to find distracted or vacationing families away from their home.
With that in mind, Sheriff Grady Judd offers the following tips to securing your property while you’re away:
Don’t advertise you’ll be away by leaving a message on your home email or voicemail stating you’re not home.
If you have an alarm system, set the alarm before leaving and provide the monitoring company with a phone number where you can be reached.
Secure your valuables and electronics out of view. And secure all outside lawn equipment.
Secure all windows and doors before leaving.
Ask a neighbor to check your property while you’re away. Ask them to park a spare vehicle in your drive, or even leave trash on trash day in front of your property.
And encourage all neighbors to immediately report suspicious activity.
“The summer is a time for leisurely fun,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “But there is nothing fun about being the victim of a crime. Whether it’s a theft or vandalism, crime isn’t funny. In one recent case of vandalism in Eloise, 7 mail boxes were damaged by an unknown suspect. The owners are now faced with repairing or replacing their property, and deputies now must locate the suspect with limited information to go on. Please take time to help your neighbor by reporting all suspicious activity in your neighborhood. And remember, you can report crime anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1.800.226.TIPS.”