Castlerock HOA

Neighborhood Watch

This page is maintained by your Neighborhood Watch Committee Chair.  Over time, this page will contain valuable information for making our community safer.  Please stay tuned and check back often.  

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In the unlikely event you find yourself the victim of a crime here in Castlerock, file a police report and provide the property management company with a copy of the report.  This way, we can track trends and identify any problems sooner, rather than later, and take a proactive approach to keep our community safe for everyone.

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Here's a link to a home security checklist.  Use it to evaluate the security of your home. Any item that gets checked in the orange column should be something for you to consider as a potential weak spot in your home security.

http://www.usaonwatch.org/assets/publications/HomeSecurity.pdf

I am a firm believer in the concept of "community awareness."  This concept involves knowing your neighborhood and its rhythms.  By knowing your neighborhood, you can more readily spot something that seems out of place.  It is my opinion that the key to this is knowing your neighbors.  Now, they don't need to be your best friends, although that would be nice, but you should know enough about them to feel comfortable talking to them and being able to rely on them when you are away from your home.  So, as the weather gets warmer, get out of the house and walk around your neighborhood.  Get to know the people who are your first line of defense when you are away. 

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OPERATION ID

“Operation Identification” is a program through the Norman Police Department to encourage citizen involvement in crime prevention. The program is designed to discourage theft but also to recover property that has already been stolen. This calls for joint participation by you and the police in identifying, marking, and listing your valuable items. This effort can act as a deterrent to theft because stolen items bearing etched identification numbers are more difficult to sell. If you are a burglary victim, there is a better chance of recovering the items and possibly linking a suspect with the burglary if the items were marked. It can also make reporting the burglary easier, because you will have all the information about your property in one place.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK? You use an engraving pen to inscribe your driver’s license number on the upper right hand corner of the backside of all items that do not have a serial number. Even if an item does have its own serial number you can still mark it with your ID number also. Then you make a log of the make, model, color, serial number, etc. of each item. We also recommend that you take videotape or pictures of the items as well. Then store the list in a safe place and give a copy of the list and pictures to a trusted relative or friend to keep in case you become a victim of a burglary.

WHERE DO I GET AN ENGRAVING PEN? The Norman Police Department will loan you an engraving pen at no charge if you are a Norman resident. It is a good idea to call ahead to make sure that all the pens are not checked out and that there will be a pen for you to check out when you get to the Police Department. When you come to check a pen out make sure that you bring your driver’s license or state identification, because they will need to make a copy of it for you to check a pen out.

For more information about “Operation ID” please call the Norman Police Department at (405)321-1600.

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Here's a link to an article that will provide you and your family checklists to plan for many different emergency situations.

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/article/Staff_Pick/Emergency_Planning_Checklists

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When you go out of town for a day or a month, don't forget to either have a neighbor come into your house and turn on a light or two from time to time, or purchase a timer and plug a lamp into it.  Set it to go on before dusk, and have it turn off sometime around bed-time.  This way your home will look occupied when you're not home.  A house that looks empty is an inviting target and something as simple as having a light on goes a long way towards discouraging the crime of opportunity.

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THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T  TELL YOU  (Thanks to Christie for passing along this info.  It came in the form of an e-mail, which explains the formatting and perspective.)

There are some really great tips  here:

The  best are near the end.

Common  sense applied in a vigorous way.

 

13 THINGS YOUR BURGLAR  WON'T TELL YOU

 1. Of course I  look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your  shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

 2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

 3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

 4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway.  And  I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it  takes you to remove it.

 5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house.  Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

 6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set.  That makes it too easy.

 7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink.  And the windows on the  second floor, which often access the master bedroom - and your jewelry.  It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

 8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door  - understandable.  But understand this:  I don't take a day off because of bad weather.

 9. I always knock first.  If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)

 10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer?  I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

 11. Here's a  helpful hint:  I almost never go into kids' rooms.

 12. You're right : I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your  valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

 13. A loud TV or  radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (thttp://www.faketv/.com/)

 

 8 MORE THINGS A BURGLAR WON'T TELL  YOU:

 

 1. Sometimes, I carry a  clipboard.  Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake.  I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

 2. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

 3. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise.  If your neighbor hears one  loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again.  If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing.  It's human nature.

 4. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

 5. I love looking in your windows.  I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen  TVs or gaming systems I'd like.  I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

 6. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page.  It's easier than you think to look up your address.

 7. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air.  To me, it's an invitation.

 8. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door.  Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk  right in.

 Protection for you and your home:

 If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you.

 WASP SPRAY

 A friend who is a  receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the  collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp  spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you.  The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would.  She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection. Thought this was interesting and might be of use.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night.  Tell your spouse, your children, your  neighbors, your parents, your Dr.'s office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.  If you hear a  noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car.  The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator.  Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:  It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation.  Test it.  It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain.  It works if you park in your driveway or garage.  If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around.  After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't  want that.  And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot.  The alarm can work the same way there.  This is something that should really be shared with everyone.  Maybe it would save a life or a sexual abuse crime.  Would  also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone.  My mom has suggested to my dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him.  He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.

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Car burglaries are up in Norman.  Crime prevention tips are really simple: lock your car, don’t leave windows open, don’t leave keys in the car, and don’t leave valuables in plain view.

http://normantranscript.com/archive/x857342/Auto-burglaries-up  

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 The Norman Police Department has valuable tips on crime prevention on their website.  Go to http://normanpd.normanok.gov/ and select the "Community Services" tab.  From there select "Crime Prevention" and then choose the topic that interests you.

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