For a crime to occur, an opportunity has to exist and a motivated criminal has to be present. Help prevent crime by taking informed steps to make your neighborhood, business, and family safe and resistant to crime and unattractive to criminals.

At Home

• Avoid confrontations with burglars.
• Lock all doors, even if you are at home.
• If you are leaving for vacation, make sure your house doesn’t look empty. Make it look like it is lived in. Activate timers for light switches, and order a temporary hold to newspaper and mail delivery, or ask a trusted neighbor or friend to pick up items delivered to your home daily.

Identity Theft

• Do not throw away papers that have your personal information on them without tearing or shredding them.
• Guard your mail from being stolen. Remove mail from your box shortly after it has been delivered.

Keep Kids Safe

• Warn children about “stranger danger”
• Know who your kids are talking to on social networks such as Facebook.

Internet and Phone Scams

• Microsoft will NEVER call you to tell you that you have contracted a virus.
• The IRS will NEVER call you and try and obtain money from you over the phone.

Here are some helpful links on how to prevent crimes and to learn more about it:

FBI Internet Fraud