Dear All,
Attached is the Crime Report for our district for the month of April. I looked over the last 4 months and we have been very consistent – three months with 71 incidents and February (think about the weather) with less at 66. Looking at the maps from the last four months it seems that we do have certain areas that tend to have more crime than others in the district. If you live in one of those areas, maybe you can help by getting a Crime Watch started or if you already have one, getting people in your neighborhood more active and aware of safety tips. I know many of your neighborhoods do participate in Crime Watches and have either our Crime Watch Specialist, Diane Moorman, or other IMPD officers come to your neighborhood meetings. This is a great way to hear from them ideas on keeping your home and neighborhood safer. If you are having an HOA Meeting coming up sometime soon, give Diane Moorman a call at 327-6572 or email her at diane.moorman@indy.gov and set something up. They also usually bring out some other valuable information for everyone to have. The information is beneficial to all neighborhoods and not only applies to when you are at home, but also when you are doing many other daily activities.
I have heard several presentations lately and would like to share with all of you some of the things I am taking away from those meetings:
- See something, say something. Call 911 to report any suspicious activity. You know your neighborhoods, who belongs in them and what is normal. You see something that does not look right to you, call 911.
- Outside lighting has been brought up by people who are concerned about their neighborhoods being dark at night. Turn your porch lights on and other outside lights. Criminals like to work in the dark – keep you home well lighted at night on the outside as well as lights on inside so even if you are not at home it looks like you are.
- Do not “advertise” that you have a new TV, computer, etc. by setting boxes out for the trash. You are suppose to break down boxes anyway for most of the trash haulers and put them in your trash bins, but if you don’t have to put them inside the bins yet, break these boxes down and put them in a trash bag so people who are “cruising the neighborhood” cannot take “inventory” of your new purchase.
- Always keep your car locked and do not leave anything of value in your car, especially in plain view. And when going to the park, gym, or other place where ladies don’t want to take their purse inside or men their wallet, don’t lock it up in the trunk in the parking lot and then walk away. Someone could be watching and now they know there is something in that trunk of interest and may break in your car to get into the trunk. Put things in your trunk at another location if you have to have them in your car.
- Keep your doors at home locked and your garage doors closed. This goes for even when you are at home or working/enjoying your yard. Especially when cutting grass or using other noisy tools that you are concentrating on what you are doing and cannot hear what could be going on.
- When on vacation have a trusted neighbor or friend keep an eye on your place. Let them know who should, if anyone, be at your house so they can call 911 if someone is around who should not be there. Make sure your paper, mail, and packages are taken care of as well.
- Never answer the door to strangers. There are a lot of people who go door to door selling things. They could be “checking out the place”. You never know. Don’t take the chance.
- And remember – never hesitate calling 911 if you see something that does not look right to you.
If we could get everyone to follow these tips we would send a message to those who are up to no good that ours is not an area that is going to be “easy pickings” and they will move somewhere else which they can be “successful” and get in and out quickly without someone calling on them. Let’s see if all of us working together can make District 6 and our area a place where those who are committing crimes do not want to be! Remember, if you see something happening now call 911! If something has already happened and you are sure the person doing it is away from the neighborhood, call the non-emergency number, 327-3811. Summer is coming and crime tends to rise. Let’s make our area the exception to that and see if we can get our incidents to go down.
Sincerely,
Janice McHenry
City-County Councillor District 6
