Home Safety Advisory from Montgomery County Police
If you observe any suspicious person, activity or situation, you should call the police immediately. It is very important that all residents report any crime to the police. If the crime is in progress, call 911. To report a crime that has already occurred, please call the non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 and contact the Section Manager or a Council Member For further information contact: Dana Matthis Montgomery Police Department’s Community Service Officer tel: 301-657-0119
The police should be contacted for any suspicious situation or person no matter how trivial it may appear to us.
- Lock doors and windows
- Keep lights on at night. At the time of the presentation I thought this meant lights illuminating the entrance ways to the house, but maybe it means the interior lights.
- Beware of the assumption that everybody in the neighborhood has good intentions. For example, workers that are employed in a house may notify friends or others about its contents and its accessibility.
- Beware of routine and be conscious of the unusual. Report suspicious situations or people to the police (911).
- Project the impression that your house is occupied. Leave on radio or TV. Use light timers. Leave car in the driveway.
- Check your doors and windows after workers leave your house. Sometimes workers intentionally leave windows open. Sometimes the owner forgets.
- House address numbers should be 4 to 6 inches high and easily visible from the street. This includes being adequately illuminated.
- Your house should be easily visible to your neighbors.
- Clear debris from your yard which could be used to force entry, bricks, hoses, ladders etc.
- Close blinds so that people can not easily see through first floor windows. This will prevent a casual assessment of the house contents and the floor plan.
- List serial numbers or compile any other identification, including photographs, of valuable belongings. This not only helps the police to return these items to you, it also helps in the identification of the thieves and constitutes evidence leading to their arrest.
- Check on your neighbors premises and let them no if your house will be empty for an extended time (e.g. a weekend). Let them know of any arrangements you have made for occupation of your house during your absence.
- Make sure newspapers and mail are collected for you and /or delivery is stopped during your absence.
- Make eye contact with people in your neighborhood. Make sure they know that you know they are there and that you will recognize them in the future.
- Have a plan for your modus operandi if confronted by an intruder. The officer was pretty vague about what the plan should be. It would vary between people.
