A safe neighborhood is created when the people who live in the community look out for one another and their property. Keeping a watchful eye, noticing and reporting unusual activities, and talking with neighbors to make them aware of neighborhood happenings all help create a crime watch program and a safe community. Let's make it more difficult for burglars to do their job.

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TAKE ACTION TODAY

  1. Get to know your neighbors.
  2. Organize a community watch program to protect your neighborhood. Obtain training and necessary information about Neighborhood Watch from your local law enforcement agency.
  3. Post a Neighborhood Watch signs in a visible window of your home and encourage neighbors to do the same.
  4. Ask neighbors to be observant and report suspicious or unusual activities.
  5. Let your neighbors know when you'll be out of town and leave a contact number where you can be reached. When you travel out of town, place your mail on hold.
  6. Make your home safer by installing an alarm system, placing rods in the frames of sliding windows and doors, leaving outdoor lights (CFLs) on at night, setting indoor lamps with timers, and adopting a dog.

FACTS

  • Over 2.1 million burglaries happen annually.
  • Nearly 64% of residential burglaries occur during daylight hours.
  • Every 14.5 seconds a burglary occurs.
  • Over 61% of all burglaries are by forcible entry through the use of tools, breaking windows, and forcing doors, windows or locks.
  • Approximately 33% are by unlawful entry with no force via an open door or window.
  • The average loss per residential burglary is $1,991.
  • July has the greatest number of burglaries; February, the least.
  • Only 17%, or 1 in 6 people, volunteer in a program that prevents crime.

More Ways to Make Your Mondays Matter
Protect yourself with Internet safety
Have AMBER alerts sent to you
Prepare for an emergency

Excerpted from: Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make a Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza. Copyright © 2008 Every Monday Matters LLC. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published 10/31/2009

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