Full Notification

Citizens,

October is Crime Prevention Month and I would like to get things started off right by providing you with 4 things you can do to decrease your chances of being a crime victim and help us maintain a safe community.

1. Lock It or Lose It - A very high percentage of the thefts reported in Tyrone are the result of unlocked homes, buildings, and vehicles and/or from high value items being left visible or unsecured.

A total of 18 incidents of Entering Auto have been reported in Tyrone over the past two years and all but 4 of those involved unlocked vehicles. The 4 vehicles that were forcibly broken into were parked in commercial areas, which makes sense because most criminals will not break glass or do anything to draw attention to themselves in a quiet neighborhood at night. The other 14 cases were crimes of opportunity and it is apparent in most of these cases that they passed up locked vehicles and went for the easy targets.

If you've been following us on Nixle for a while, you've probably grown tired of hearing this message - and I apologize - but these incidents continue to occur and I would be remiss if I didn't remind you often.

2. Harden Your Home - Target hardening is an effective and easy way to prevent burglary. Consider these tips:

*Maintain the appearance of occupancy;
*Good exterior lighting all around residence perimeter creates a psychological barrier. Consider motion activated light fixtures;
*Trim shrubbery away from windows, doorways and porches. Shrubbery and other barriers provide concealment for burglars;
*Exterior doors should be of solid construction with secure frames and locking hardware. Use a deadbolt with at least a 1" to 1-1/2" bolt throw. Treat door from garage to inside the house as an exterior door;
*Windows within 18 feet of the ground should be treated as first floor windows. Windows should be working and retro-fit with cost effective locking hardware;
*Insure that all exterior doors (including overhead garage door) are LOCKED - even when you're home;
*Install a "Charlie Bar" or commercial locking device for sliding doors;
*Inventory and photograph your property;

3. Be a Good Witness - Neighborhood Watch is a proven method of reducing and preventing crime and we would love to see a formal group established in every neighborhood in Tyrone, but you do not have to be a member of NW to be effective. All you have to do is take note of what should or should NOT be going on in your neighborhood.

If you see something out of place, call 911 or 770-461-HELP(4357) immediately. It's always better to error on the side of caution - many crimes are solved each year based on citizen reports of suspicious activity.

Many citizens fear "becoming involved". If that's you, please remember that it is perfectly acceptable to tell the Dispatcher that you want to remain anonymous when reporting suspicious activity in your area.

Take mental notes of descriptors and relay them to the police:

For suspicious persons:
*Approximate Height;
*Approximate Weight:
*Clothing Description;
*Race;
*What are they doing?
*Can you tell if they have any weapons/tools?
*Direction of travel;

For suspicious vehicles:
*Color;
*Make;
*Model;
*Tag number;
*Direction of travel;
*Number of occupants;


We understand that you may not be able to get all of that information, but ANY of it could be extremely helpful to us in our investigation.

If you would like to get a neighborhood watch group started in your area, feel free to contact me at any time and I will walk you through the process and help you organize a kick off meeting where I will come and discuss the program and local crime with you and your neighbors.

4. Tell a Neighbor about Nixle - We've been using this system for well over a year now and we continue to receive very positive feedback from our members because you see the value in the information presented. We have over 600 subscribers to date, which isn't bad for a community of our size, but we want to get our message out to as many people as possible!

All you have to do to help is:

*Tell your neighbors about the service and direct them to www.nixle.com to sign up.
*Forward the messages we send to your email contacts who live in the area and encourage them to join.

We are here to serve you, so please do not hesitate to call on me or any member of the Tyrone Police Department to ask questions, discuss your concerns, or report activity.

Respectfully,

Chief Brandon Perkins