Alarm Center Celebrates Crime Prevention Month

It was in 1984 that the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) first designated October as Crime Prevention Month. Throughout the month, local governments, schools, businesses, and the like are encouraged to work together in educating the public about crime prevention.

If you are interested in getting your school, business, or community to take part in this October's Crime Prevention Month, the NCPC has kits to help get you started. The theme for this year can be downloaded at 2011-2012 Crime Prevention Month Kit on the NCPC website.

One of the main focuses of Crime Prevention Month is on getting citizens to join together to help create safer communities. One way that this is accomplished is by making people aware of, and getting them involved in, the NCPC's Celebrate Safe Communities program.  From the website:

Celebrate Safe Communities (CSC) is crime prevention done the right way – local people working with local law enforcement to address local issues. CSC spotlights communities' crime prevention efforts, enhances public awareness of vital crime prevention and safety messages, and recruits year-round support for ongoing prevention activities that help people keep neighborhoods safe from crime and prepared for any emergency.

Visit their website today to utilize resources and tools for your community, or to register your own CSC-inspired event.

Working together, we can all help to create safer communities for our families and children here in Louisiana.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Who's In Your Fridge When You Aren't Home?

I once knew an insurance adjuster who worked in the burglary division of his agency and I'll never forget the day he said to me, "You'd be surprised at who's been in your fridge eating that cold fried chicken."

I have never been able to shake that image in my head of someone in my home when I wasn't there, eating out of my fridge, sitting in my favorite chair, rifling through my drawers, and invading my private space. It made me realize it was naïve to think that my home was safe and secure behind my flimsy lock and easily kicked-in deadbolt.  

People's homes get broken into every single day, and though we believe it could never happen to us, I'd imagine all those who have suffered through a home invasion once thought the same thing.

Though we may want to believe we are immune to such misfortune, the odds are not in our favor.  In the U.S., a burglar breaks into a home every 15 seconds.  According to the FBI, 62% of those burglaries occur during the day, between 9am-3pm, when most people are at work and their homes are left unoccupied and are more vulnerable to an invasion. 

Here locally we have cause for even more concern.  Of all the burglaries that occur in the United States, almost half of them - 45% - occur in the South.  

Louisiana itself, especially in and around the Baton Rouge area, has a notoriously high crime rate.  Statistics state that you have a 1 in 27 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in this state; in fact, of the 12,666 property crimes committed in Louisiana in 2011, 4,220 of them were burglary of a residence or business.

And yet, there is something you can do to prevent you and your family becoming a victim.  In contrast to the frightening stats above, it is proven that homes which have a fully-monitored alarm system are 3 times less likely to be burglarized.  If that isn't incentive in these times we live in, I don't know what is!

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Home Security and Burglary Prevention

From YT: Home Security and Burglary Prevention starts with understanding basic layers of protection and prevention. While a sticker or a sign isn't "secure", it is a deterrent and creates doubt in the mind of the burglar. There are a number of creative measures you can take to protect your home and family.

 

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Don't Let Your Cellphone Get Snatched!

We all know that smartphones are far more than just phones and have become a fixture in our daily routines; so much so that we often use them as a personal computer even more than we use them for communication.  That said, it's no surprise that the more we use our cellphones and the more valuable they become, the bigger a target they become for the criminal set.

Cellphones can be quickly and easily swiped and resold for a quick buck.  How profitable is cell phone theft?  Selling a stolen phone – to a store or online – can net a thief up to $200.  It’s so profitable, in fact, that cell phone snatching has become a very serious and prominent crime.

The problem is so prevalent that the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) is working with law enforcement, lawmakers, and wireless carriers to create a database to track – and shut down – stolen phones, preventing them from being used.

The F.C.C. reports that nearly one out of three robberies in the last year involved the theft of a cell phone.  According to this NY Times piece:

The thefts have grown most rapidly in urban areas; cellphones are stolen in more than 40 percent of all robberies in New York City and 38 percent of robberies in the District of Columbia…

This is certainly something to be aware of and obviously is affecting big cities such as New York, but is it such a problem here locally?  You might be surprised – and concerned – to learn it is!

Greg Meriwether over at WAFB reported on this growing problem right here in Baton Rouge recently: "Cell phone snatching problem sweeping Baton Rouge area".  I highly recommend giving it a read.

It’s very important to not set your phone down when out in public, and be wary of people asking to borrow your phone, as happens in the Pop-A-Lock scam mentioned by WAFB:

Some thieves have gotten clever with a so-called Pop-A-Lock scam; and they have targeted coffee shops here in Baton Rouge. A man recently approached a woman sitting at a coffee shop on Perkins. He asked the woman to borrow her phone to call pop-a-lock; the company that unlocks car doors. The woman says the man even sat at her table for about three minutes, supposedly on the phone with the company. All of a sudden, the man acted as if he needed to go and get his VIN off his car. He walked out to the parking lot with her phone, and she never saw him again.

Because of this it is important to be aware of your phone – how you use it and where you set it down – in public.  Also, be sure to register your phone with your network operator so that they can put a block or shut the phone down if it is stolen.  Keep your phone locked with a security pin, as well.  WAFB also has a list of anti-theft and security apps that you can download to further protect your cell phone.

In case this does happen to you, be prepared.  Keep a record of this important information about your cell phone in a secure place:

• Your phone number
• The make and model
• Color and appearance details
• The pin or security lock code

The most important thing to do is be prepared and be alert.  Some people have had cell phones snatched away from them while they were walking down the street talking into them.  Be aware of your surroundings and take proper precautions.  Register your phone and have anti-theft or security apps installed and functioning.  In the event your phone is stolen, have your phone’s information in a secure place and call the police immediately and follow up with a call to your service provider.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Keep Your Home Safe While on Vacation

Planning on going on vacation this summer?  Even if you don’t have a monitored alarm system, there are things you can do to help keep your home safe while you are away.

1) Don’t Tell the World Your Plans
These days, without even thinking twice about it, we share the intimate details of our lives with friends, family, co-workers and even strangers through social media.  While your intent in announcing your upcoming, week-long vacation to Hawaii may be to let everyone know you will be unavailable at that time, you have also just sent a message out to potential thieves that your home is going to be unoccupied – and ripe for the picking – for an entire week.  This article tells about an Arizona man who found himself robbed after telling his 2,000+ Twitter followers he was going out of town!

2) Careful with Sharing
In the same vein, be careful when sharing information about your vacation while you’re on it.  Updates to Twitter or Facebook, especially uploaded photos, let people know you are out of town as well.  Remember, too, that things uploaded from a cell phone often automatically have location tags on them, telling people where you are when you uploaded the information.  If you must share, send emailed updates to specific family members/friends only, and upload the rest of your vacation to your preferred social media sites once you return home.

3) Get the Neighbors In On It
An overgrown lawn can make a property look abandoned, so take care of any landscaping before you leave and if you’re going to be gone for a very long time, have a family member or neighbor come by and trim things up or hire someone to do so.  In addition to making sure your lawn is cut before you leave and any shrubs obscuring windows are cut back, it’s a good idea to let a few trusted neighbors know you’ll be out of town and for how long.  Ask them to keep an eye on your residence and to pick up any newspapers or other mail that might be piling up – anything that might make the home look as if it’s unoccupied for any length of time.

4) Leave the Lights On
Leave some lights on or have some type of home automation set up so that your home is not darkened and empty-looking for days and nights on end.  Home automation can be purchased as an entire system, or be a simple set up using outlet timers and switches.

5) Lock It Down
Though it may seem elementary, be sure that everything is locked up tight before you head out.  All windows, garage doors, basement windows or entrances, etc.  Inside your home, it’s a good idea to make sure all valuables are doubly protected by locking them up in a safe or even, for your most valuable, leaving them in a safety deposit box at your local bank.

6) Careful With Away Messages
Don’t tell people on your voicemail or answering machine that you are out of town or for how long you plan to be gone.  Also, be careful with automatic response email messages; only put these on your professional email accounts, where you are safe sharing such information.

7) Nix the Hidden Key
If you have a key hidden somewhere on your property, pick it up.  That’s one of the first things thieves look for, and with you being gone for an extended time, they have all the more time to search for it.  If you must leave a key for relatives or neighbors to check in on your home or pets and don't want to give them an actual copy, get a combination lock key storage box, like the one pictured here, and only give the code to those people you are trusting to check on your home.



[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Baton Rouge Fights Back Against Violence

In May, Mayor‐President Melvin "Kip" Holden announced an ambitious new project to fight back against Baton Rouge's staggering violent crime rate.  The program, which has local government and law enforcement teaming up with "juvenile services, probation and parole, social agencies, LSU and the faith‐based community", is based on similar successful programs, coined Operation Ceasefire, in crime-ridden areas of Boston and Los Angeles.

Titled BRAVE (Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination Project), the project incorporates the same Group Violence Reduction Strategies employed in Operation Ceasefire and recommended by the National Institute of Justice.  Per The Advocate:

The premise behind Operation Ceasefire, according to program literature, is that crime can be dramatically reduced when law enforcement, residents and social service providers engage with the street groups and gangs to communicate three messages:

•  A law enforcement message that any future violence will be met with clear, predictable and certain consequences; 
• A moral message against violence by the right community representatives; 
• An offer of help for those who want it. 

 As part of BRAVE, on Monday five Baton Rouge police officers - part of the department's new BRAVE enforcement unit - took to the streets in the most crime-ridden area of Baton Rouge, located in the 70805 zip code.  The Adovcate has more, "Anti-violence team formed".

Whether the program will be successful remains to be seen, but the results in other cities implementing similar programs give us much reason to be hopeful.  Mayor Holden says that they hope to see a difference in the targeted areas in 90 to 120 days.

In the meantime, District Attorney Hillar Moore has reached out to the community to hear their concerns and try to answer some questions about the criminal justice process in the city.  The first such forum was held Tuesday, June 5 at Catholic High School and was attended by about 100 people.

We should all do our part to make sure that not only our homes and loved ones are safe, but also our communities and local businesses.  Working together, perhaps we can all create a future, safer Baton Rouge.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Just How Bad Is Crime in Louisiana?

In 2010, LPB's monthly public affairs program, Louisiana Public Square, did a comprehensive special on the staggering crime rate in Louisiana and, most specifically, Baton Rouge (their findings were published in a report titled "Combating Crime in Louisiana"). The program covered what local government and law enforcement, along with average citizens, were doing to stem the tide.

It's a tide that needs stemming.  A 2008 Wikipedia entry on Crime in Louisiana stated:

Louisiana by far is the worst state for lethal violence. Its per capita murder rate has led all states annually for 22 consecutive years (1989–2010) according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. 

That was in 2008; surely things have improved, right?

Yes and no.  While overall crime - specifically violent crime - has seen a slight downward trend in Louisiana, the state continues to rank as one of the highest crime-rated states in the U.S.

In Baton Rouge, specifically, things are still far from "safe".  NeighborhoodScout gives Baton Rouge a score of 3 out of 100 (with 100 being the safest).  It goes on (emphasis mine):

With a crime rate of 67 per one thousand residents, Baton Rouge has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 15. Within Louisiana, more than 92% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Baton Rouge. 

In February 2012, the Baton Rouge Police Department issued their 2011 Crime Statistics.  While violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, assault) has declined by 2.6%, crimes against property (burglary, larceny, arson, motor vehicle theft) were up 1.6%.  NeighborhoodScout goes on (emphasis mine):

...a lot of the crime that takes place in Baton Rouge is property crime. Property crimes that are tracked for this analysis are burglary, larceny over fifty dollars, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In Baton Rouge, your chance of becoming a victim of a property crime is one in 18, which is a rate of 56 per one thousand population.

It is encouraging that our government and law enforcement officials are aware of this problem and are working together to try and make our state a safer place, but it is important that each of us takes the necessary steps to keep our home and property, and especially our loved ones, safe.  Visit Crime in America's informative post "Crime Prevention Tips That Work - Keeping You and Your Family Safe" for advice and tips on doing just that.  To view the full Louisiana Public Square broadcast "Combating Crime in Louisiana", click here.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]