Neighborhood Watch Program Meeting

Hi All,

A special thanks to Linda Corey for sending me this:

Neighborhood Watch Program

Monday, January 10th at 7 PM in the Elementary Gym at B.F.A. Fairfax concerned residents gathered to learn more about “Neighborhood Watch” and how they could help each other and themselves at a time when there are so many home thefts. Linda Corey called Deputy Tom Billow from the Franklin County Sheriff’s office to come speak to the group. It was open to all residents and surrounding communities but Linda was not able to put the notice out enough to get a better turn out.

We do plan to have a follow up meeting mid February to discuss how groups are organizing and share information. Deputy Billow brought some EXCELLENT handouts with him to the meeting. You can also learn more on the various websites available. Please be looking to attend the next meeting in February. We will get the word out better this time!

Get to know your neighbors and their vehicles. Communicate with your neighbors. The thought is to have “sections” or groups of neighbors share their information with a “block captain”. Communicate through email or by phone when you will be away. Our street was able to find a run away dog quickly with our “phone tree”! Have a plan for your children when they come home to a strange car or person in the driveway – where will they go? What will they do? Talk to your children about answering the door or questions of strangers.

Should you see something suspicious report it immediately by dialing “911”, calling the Sheriff’s Department at 524-2121, or calling the State Police at 524-5993.

Here in Fairfax contact our local Constable Kevin Campbell at 849-6665 at his shop, 849-2937 at home or 324-1154 on his cell phone.

Try to get good identification – the person’s approximate age, height, weight, race, gender, hair, did they limp or have any tattoos or scars, clothing, make of a car, color of vehicle, plate number, direction they traveled in.

Below are some tips and information on Neighborhood Watch.

Neighborhood Watch was created to obtain citizen involvement in discouraging and preventing residential crime. The program uses citizen involvement to secure their own homes and personal property and to report any suspicious activities to the police. Since its creation approximately ten years ago, it has brought a dramatic drop in the local residential crime rate.

Neighborhood Crime Facts
*Household burglary is one of the easiest crimes to commit and prevent but one of the hardest to solve.
*Over one-half of police time is spent on investigating burglaries.
*Household burglary is one of the most rapidly increasing major crimes in the nation.
*Most home burglars are young amateurs looking for easy targets.
*Statistics show that in over one-half of household burglaries there was not any forced entry involved.
*A majority of household burglaries occur during daylight hours.
*Household burglary has a high potential for death or injury in cases where the burglar is surprised by the property owner.

What we can do:

*Secure your home and personal property. Follow the recommendations from the security survey and participate in Operation I.D.
*Be alert to suspicious activity and report it immediately.
*Have your newspaper stopped and mail picked up when away.
*Inform your neighbors and block captains if you plan to be away so that special attention can be given to your home.

Learn how to protect yourself.

*Secure all swinging doors with dead-bolt locks. Use an auxiliary locking bar, to secure sliding doors.
*Keep doors locked whether you are at home or away.
*Close and lock windows when you leave your home.
*Don't hide spare keys. Burglars always seem to find them. Instead, give your keys to a trusted neighbor.
*When going on vacation stop all deliveries and ask a neighbor to stop by your house once a day to pick up advertising circulars or anything else that may pile up at your front step.
*Use automatic timers to turn indoor lights on and off to make it appear you are at home.
*Identify your belongings. By engraving an identifying number on your possessions you can reduce the chances that your possessions will be stolen. If they are stolen, the identifying numbers will make it easier for the item to be returned to you if it's recovered by the police.

*Take air conditioners out of windows while away during warm months