When it comes to the safety of your family and neighborhood, a combined effort of the community and yourself is the best way to go. You can’t predict when a crime is going to happen, but you can take precautionary measures to keep your neighborhood safe.

Get to Know Your Neighbors

Getting to know who lives on your street is crucial to identifying a suspicious person. This will make the neighborhood safer by knowing what your neighbors’ habits are and help prevent crime. Become an active member of the community and utilize neighborhood watch apps like Nextdoor and Neighbors by Ring that lets you and your community share any suspicious behavior or crimes to help keep your neighborhood safe.

Depending on the community that you live in, there are also community meetings or programs where you can get to know everyone and pro-actively work on keeping the area safe for you and your family.

Maintain Adequate Lighting

Take a moment at night to observe how well-lit your street is. Is it only illuminated by one street light? Do a majority of your neighbors keep their front porch light off? Then maybe it’s time to consider installing some motion-sensor lights outside your home or even making a city or HOA proposal to install more street lights in your community.

The more illuminated your street is, the safer it will be. The likeliness of a suspicious person being spotted is more likely due to an increase in visibility.

Recognize Suspicious Behavior

Always be aware of your surroundings. If you see someone that you don’t recognize sitting in a parked car, peeking through windows or standing at front doors without knocking or ringing the doorbell can indicate suspicious behavior. If you feel like you’re at a safe distance, try asking the suspicious person if there’s something you can help with. Intruders dislike being questioned and will flee in fear.

Report Suspicious Behavior

Once you’re able to identify suspicious behavior, you’ll need to report it to the police. The more police presence your community has, the less likely an intruder will target. If you’ve noticed an excessive amount of suspicious behavior outside your home, you can even request for an officer to patrol your street.

When making a report, make sure to note the key details like the place, time, and description of the suspect during the time of the incident. This information can make it easier for your police department to find trends that can help crime prevention.

Lock Up

This may seem like a no-brainer but often times than not, failing to lock up your property makes you an easy target for would-be criminals.

Make sure that you always lock up your home, gates, vehicle and never leave your garage door opener in the vehicle. Intruders typically case homes before making them a target, so being situationally aware can make your neighborhood safer.

Steel Shield Security

We care about your family and community’s safety. Steel Shield Security Doors is your one-stop shop to make your home safer and ready for intruders. Call one of our technicians for a free estimate on the best quality security doors and gates, (623) 581-3667.