[Durham INC] Personal safety & home security tips

[Laura Drey]

Personal Safety Tips
 
Take a workshop on personal safety from SafeSkills.
·      SafeSkills 383-7233 (training center) or 644-1335 (office)
3702 Hillsborough Rd., Durham, NC 27705 (new location)
³SafeSkills® self-defense workshops introduce you to the concepts of
handling threatening or violent situations. SafeSkills instructors
<http://www.safeskills.com/aboutss.html#instructors> teach simple, easy to
learn strategies and techniques. People of all ages and abilities can learn
valuable skills in a SafeSkills® workshop. SafeSkills® offers a broad-based
approach to personal safety which includes psychological, verbal and
physical self-protection skills. SafeSkills® Self-Defense instruction
involves: examining your options of if, when, and how to resist effectively;
understanding the ploys attackers use; using verbal assertiveness; safe,
hands-on practice with the physical skills of yelling, kicking, punching and
striking effectively.²
http://www.safeskills.com
 
Sign up for home security assessments by the Durham Police Dept.
·       560-4427: Ask for Community Policing
 
District 2 Questions (and he can also get messages to other districts):
·      Sgt. D. Gunter
·      District2B at yahoo.com <mailto:District2B at yahoo.com>
·      (919) 560-4582, x223
 
Everyday Home Security Tips
 
1.   Get to know your neighbors.
 
2.   Join your neighborhood watch.
 
3.   Watch out for unfamiliar people driving around your neighborhood, get
their license #, report suspicious activities to the police by  calling 911..
 
4.   Leave a light on somewhere in the house, preferably on a timer.
 
5.   Install motion detector lights and periodically check to make sure they
are in working order.
 
6.   Leave a radio on loud enough to be heard upon entering the home.
 
7.   Use double-cylinder dead bolt locks with extralong screws in the strike
plates. 
 
8.   Permanently mark valuables with an engraver.
 
9.   Keep garage doors and storage buildings locked.
 
10. Trim bushes below the windowsills.
 
11. If your street is dark petition the city for additional streetlights.
For an application, go to
www.ci.durham.nc.us/forms/works_trans_midblock_light.pdf
<http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/forms/works_trans_midblock_light.pdf> .
 
 12. Become involved with the Citizens Observer Patrol (COP) program, if it
is in effect in your area. (The COP program is a community policing program
sponsored by the Durham Police Department that provides a marked car to
patrol with flashing lights, adding more eyes and visibility to the
neighborhoods¹ prevention efforts.) For more information about the COP
program see http://www.durhampolice.com/pac/.
 
13. Plant thorny plants below windows (suggestions for bushes: Hollies,
Barberries, Mahonias, Flying Dragons).
 
14. Get a dog or a ³fake dog² (a device, which can be placed at windows,
that barks when it senses motion).
 
Out-of-Town Home Security Tips
 
1.   Leave a light on somewhere in the house, preferably on a timer.

2.   Have someone move your garbage can, yard waste can, and recycling bin
back into place.

3.   Have someone pick up your mail, packages and newspapers (even if you
have requested that your mail and paper be held, because sometimes they are
delivered anyway).
 
4.   Leave a radio on loud enough to be heard upon entering the home.

5.   Let your neighbors know the dates you will be away.

6.   Keep garage doors and storage buildings locked.

7.   Before you leave town check your motion detector lights to make sure
they are working.

8.   Never leave an outgoing message on your answering machine that says you
are away from home. One alternative is: "I'm not available right now."

9.   Leave your car in its usual position or have a neighbor park in your
usual place.

10. If you¹ll be away for an extended period of time, have someone maintain
your yard. 

11. Request that the C.O.P. (Citizen Observer Patrol) check your house while
you are away. C.O.P. will also check on the elderly or infirm while
patrolling your neighborhood. Call the Crime Prevention Officer at your
police substation. 

 

Laura Drey
Revised December 2008

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