:: Crime Prevention Unit  

CHIEF'S MESSAGE

Most criminals are opportunists, just watching and waiting for the right time, the place and the right victim. You may unwittingly be giving them that opportunity.

Criminals can often be beaten at their game with some time and effort on your part. Take a few minutes to study the safety tips. Adapt and adopt them to fit your individual circumstances.

Discuss them, and your plan, with family members, friends and neighbors. Make crime prevention a "must" in your daily routine. Encourage others to do the same.

Fall River will be safer and happier place for all because of your time and effort.

Sincerely,

John M. Souza
Chief of Police

Always Think Prevention

AT HOME

• Protect your door with a strong frame and sturdy hinges, a peephole, a chain latch, and a sturdy dead fall or dead bolt lock.
• Install a peephole with a wide-angle lens in your front door so you'll always know who's there, including anyone who might be crouching close to the door or off to the side.
• If you have sliding doors in your home, install a second lock on the doors and put a piece of wood, such as a broom pole, in the track behind the moveable door so the door can't be forced open.
• Install locks on your jalousies, or glue your jalousie glass to the metal frames with epoxy cement.
• If you're in the back yard, be sure the front door is locked, and vice versa.
• Never hide extra keys outside your home. Professional con artists know all the favorite hiding places.
• Make sure you have good exterior lighting at every entrance to your home.
• When returning home, approach your door with your key in your hand.
• Don't leave notes on your door to tell a friend that you're not at home and won't be back until a certain time.
• List your initial rather than your first name on your door and mailbox, in the phone book and on mailing lists for magazines and monthly statements.
• Never open your door to a stranger. If a stranger asks to use your phone, don't permit him or her to enter.
• Instead, offer to make the call for help.
• If you're alone and the door bell rings, say something like, "I'll get it, Frank," while you're approaching the door. This will let the person at the door know that there's a man on the premises.
• Be wary of unfamiliar women at the door. An unfamiliar woman could be an accomplice to a team of assailants.
• If you accidentally let someone in by mistake, pretend you're not alone. You can always indicate that your husband or boyfriend is asleep somewhere else in the house.

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ON THE TELEPHONE

• If you receive an obscene telephone call or a nuisance call, say nothing and hang up immediately.
• If you're alone and receive a telephone call from an unidentified caller or someone you don't know, never indicate that you're alone.
• Don't give any information to "wrong number" callers who ask you what number they've dialed.
• Be wary of callers who purport to be telephone surveyors and who request information of a personal nature. Ask for the person's name, the name of his company and his telephone number. You can call the person back.
• If you receive an unexpected telephone call late at night and you're alone, you may wish to pick up the phone and say nothing until after the caller speaks to you first.
• If crank calls should ever persist at your residence, you may have your telephone number changed to an unlisted one.
• If you start to receive crank calls at work, keep a written log of the dates and times you have received such calls, and what transpired each time.
• If crank calls persist at the office, have someone else in your office answer your phone or change the manner in which you answer the phone.

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ON THE STREET

• Stay in well-lighted areas as much as possible.
• Don't take shortcuts through alleys, vacant lots, construction sites, groves of trees and shrubbery, poorly lighted areas or unfamiliar places.
• Walk down the middle of the sidewalk against the flow of vehicular traffic in the street.
• Stay away from parked cars, doorways, staircases, entrances to alleys, hedges, and shrubs, and other potential hiding places.
• Always walk confidently at a steady pace, be alert and give the impression that you know where you're going.
• While waiting for public transportation, be aware of the pattern of traffic and alert for any car that passes you twice.
• If stopped by someone in a car asking directions, always reply from a distance, and never get close to the car.
• If your instinct tells you that you are being followed, trust your instinct, cross the street, get to the nearest place of safety (a business that is open or residence that is occupied).
• If you walk or jog frequently, vary your routine a little each day.
• Never hitchhike.
• Carry your purse close to your body, and keep a firm grip on the latch.
• When you're shopping, never leave your purse in a shopping cart, on a counter, or in a dressing room or floor.

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ON THE BUS

• Don't wait alone at a bus stop if you can wait with other people at another nearby stop.
• When waiting for the bus, don't wait too close to the street curb, where motorists and cyclists may come too close for your comfort and safety.
• If you're riding on a bus and someone bothers you, let other riders know what's happening, and tell the driver, too.
• Observe who gets off at your bus stop, and make sure that no one follows you home.
• Don't let yourself fall asleep on a bus.

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IN YOUR CAR

• Keep car in good mechanical and running condition, especially battery, tires, lights, steering and brakes.
• Learn basic information about the functioning of your car, how to change a tire, and what tools are needed.
• Plan your route ahead of time and stay on well-traveled roads.
• Keep a family member or friend informed of travel time and route.
• >Keep the doors locked and the windows open a crack to allow for ventilation.
• Park in well-lighted areas, away from bushes and pillars where someone may be hiding.
• Be cautious and alert in underground and multi-level parking structures.
• When parking your car in an attended lot, leave only your car key with the attendant. Keep your house keys with you. For convenience, you can keep your car and house keys on a two-part, detachable key ring. Never put your name and address on your key chain.
• Don't leave items of value in plain view. Take valuables with you. Lock your car.
• When returning to your car, have your keys ready so you don't have to fumble for them.
• Check the back seat and interior of your car before entering.
• If you work late, ask someone to escort you to your car, or leave with a group of people or with another woman.
• If two women driving separate cars return to a parking lot, one woman should drive the other to her car and follow her out of the lot.
• If someone drives you home, ask the driver to wait long enough to make sure you're safely inside your home.
• Drive safely, obeying all traffic laws, especially speed limits, traffic lights and stop signs. Do not stop for roadside motorists and/or hitchhikers.
• If you think you are being followed, drive to a public place or police station.
• If you're driving and are being followed, turn on your flasher lights, beep your horn intermittently, blink your lights and watch for a police car. Don't drive home or toward an isolated area of a bad neighborhood. Try to note the license number and description of the vehicle following you, and write down the information. Drive to a well-lighted area, preferably into a police station or a gas station.
• If your car breaks down, open the hood and turn on the hazard lights. If someone stops to help, stay in your locked car and ask them to call the police or a garage.
• Write down the license number and description of person's car for future reference.
• If stopped, do not get out of your locked car unless you can identify the person as a police officer.
• Should a police officer need to stop you, he or she will signal the stop with flashing blue lights and siren. If the car and officer are readily recognized as official, pull carefully to the side as soon as possible. If the identity or circumstances are suspicious or questionable, acknowledge the signal but do not stop. Continue on your way to a safe, secure place to stop. In cases of extreme doubt, drive to the nearest police station.
• After stopping, should doubts linger, keep your car windows closed and doors locked. Open a window just enough for conversation with or to offer driver's license to the uniformed police officer.
• Jot down the officer's car license number and its description.
• Obtain the badge number and name of the officer, remembering that unlike any other badge or security guard emblem, the official police badge bears the words, "FALL RIVER POLICE" in bold letters. Plainclothes officers in unmarked cars, on or off duty, usually radio for the assistance of a uniformed officer in a marked car when making an official traffic stop. In your locked car, wait for the uniformed officer to arrive.

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AT WORK

• Know your work area and note inadequate lighting in parking areas or stairways.
• Avoid areas that do not have a lot of pedestrian traffic. Stairways can be isolated and dangerous.
• In elevators, stand next to the control panel. If you are attacked, hit the emergency alarm button and every other button you can reach.
• Whistles and other types of sound devices can be used to alert people that you need help.
• If you must work late, notify someone that you are safely locked in, and notify them when you are leaving so they know when to expect you home.
• Keep your purse in a locked desk drawer or file cabinet.
• Travel in groups. There is safety in numbers.
• Park close to your recreation site. Avoid walking long distances to your car.
• Avoid parks or empty beaches late at night or early in the morning.

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