Where were you?
Many times when speaking to the victim of a crime like a theft, or an Entered Auto I will often be asked, “Where were you when this happened?” While they are understandably upset I have to admit my thoughts on the matter are, “It was your property, where were you?” It takes both a personal and a community effort to accomplish watching out for our neighborhoods and that is what I would like to talk about today.
The truth is that there are not enough police or private security in the world to individually protect all of our properties. All they can do is to assist the community in being safer, attempt to deal with crimes in progress and to try and investigate crimes that have occurred. Frankly, the latter, despite popular TV crime shows, is usually an uphill battle!
Get to know your neighbors, find out what is normal for them and agree to watch out for each other! You should have some idea what time they come home and leave for work. Knowing who stays at their home and if they have guests is also important. Ask for their cell phone numbers in case you see something that you are unsure about.
Don’t be afraid to call the police and private security! Please do so in that order! It is their job to check out suspicious activity. You are not “accusing someone” you are asking for the assistance of prepared and trained professionals in checking out suspicious activity.
Make sure that your own property is locked down and secured. Be helpful to your neighbors, if you see their property is not secured politely point it out to them. It is your business; if they have items of value that are easily stolen they are inviting thieves into our community!
Let’s all vow to take an active roll in making our communities safer!
Thank you and remember “Good neighbors built strong communities”
Bill,
Security for Pentagon Properties
note from Pentagon Properties….Bill handles all our security issues for our properties and we are proud to say “We offer a safe place to live at our properties!”