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| Crime Prevention |
| Security
of the home |
- Exterior doors should be solid core doors at least 1 1/8 inches
thick and secured by dead-bolt locks.
- Dead-bolt locks should lock with a minimum bolt throw of one
inch that penetrates a heavy duty metal strike plate.
- If the door secured by the dead-bolt lock has breakable glass
within 40 inches of the lock, the lock must be key-operated from
both sides unless prohibited by life safety codes.
- If you have double doors, have the inactive door secured by
header and threshold bolts that penetrate at least one inch into metal strike plates, and
in case of glass located within 40 inches of header and threshold
bolts, have the bolts flush-mounted in the edge of the door.
- Sliding glass doors should be secured by secondary locking
devices such as a bar or pin to prevent lifting and prying.
- Dutch style doors should have concealed flush-bolt locking
devices to interlock upper and lower halves and should be secured
by a dead-bolt lock as described above.
- Garage doors should be equipped with key-operated locking
devices.
- Windows should be secured by auxiliary locking devices.
This would include screws, wooden dowels, pinning devices and
key-operated locks.
- Do not leave windows
unsecured while sleeping or away from your home.
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| Around
the home |
- Do not leave lawn equipment unattended
or in an unsecured area of
the lawn. These items can be used to break into a home as
well as being stolen.
- Keep all landscaping trimmed
back away from sidewalks, doors and windows. Shrubbery should
be at least 18" from all exterior openings and extend no lower than
12" from the ground.
- Dollar for dollar, exterior
lighting is the best investment for burglary prevention. Dusk
to dawn lighting illuminating the entire exterior of the home will
reduce the probability of a criminal victimizing your home.
- If you buy new household items (ie. stereo, television), break
down the boxes before discarding them. Leaving the box at
the curb advertises to criminals that you have just stocked your
home with expensive items.
- Write down the serial number of everything in your home that was
supplied with serial numbers. If you have an expensive or
cherished item that does not have a serial number, etch an
identifying number into the item or participate in the the 'Protect
Our Property' property labeling program .
The Police must have a number to enter into the National Crime
Information Computer in order to recover the stolen item.
- Always be aware of new or unusual vehicles
or persons on your street.
If you observe anything that appears suspicious, do not hesitate
to call the Bellaire Police Department at (713) 668-0487.
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| Vehicles |
- Never leave your vehicle unattended and running.
This invites thieves to take your vehicle and is unlawful in
the State of Texas. It is not uncommon for car
thieves to steal a vehicle from your driveway if the keys are in it.
- You should never leave valuables in sight. This would
include mobile phones, purses, billfolds, money clips and/or any
expensive personal effects. Vehicle Burglaries can be
greatly reduced by removing all valuables at night and locking your
car.
- Roll your windows up at night.
- You should use a steering wheel locking device
or vehicle alarm if possible.
- A hidden ignition "kill switch" activated while the
vehicle is unattended prevents the vehicle being taken under it's
own power.
- Park with your front wheels turned into the curb. This
makes it more difficult for a tow device to be hooked to the front
of your vehicle.
- While in operation, keep your doors locked.
- Always be aware of your surroundings
and leave the area if you are uncomfortable..
- Never provide strangers with rides.
- Never leave a child in a
vehicle unattended, even for a short period of time.
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| While
in public places |
- Always be aware of your surroundings.
- When carrying a hand bag, ensure that the hand bag has a strong
strap and that you are always aware of how secure your bag is.
- Try not to walk in poorly lit
or desolate areas alone.
- Do not "flash" cash while in a public place. If
you must keep large amounts of cash on your person, do so
discreetly and be aware of possible suspects watching or following
you.
- Always be aware of scams,
frauds or cons. These are very common ploys used
on senior citizens. Common ploys used are lottery scams and
pigeon drops. A scam artist will convince the victim that
he/she has a winning lottery ticket, but needs the money
immediately but cannot cash in the ticket for whatever reason.
The victim will draw out a specified amount of cash from their
bank to give to the lottery ticket holder. This is
"security" that the victim will not "rip-off"
the scam artist. The victim will find that the lottery
ticket is a fake and they will be out the amount of money used as
"security" with the scam artist. This ploy is also
executed with "flash" cash. A scam artist will
show a victim a wad of cash and will ask the victim to hold it for
them. As "security", the scam artist will ask the
victim for a specified amount of cash from his/her account.
The victim will draw out their cash and the scam artist will
leave. The victim will become curious and inspect the wad of
cash more closely to discover that it is cut up newspaper.
- If something appears too
good to be true...It probably is!
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