Neighborhood Watch is coming back to life thanks to our new coordinator, Shannon Taylor. As an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney, Shannon is well-acquainted with the problem of crime. As a resident of Forest Hill, Shannon is dedicated to helping make our neighborhood safer. But she needs help.
Getting involved in Neighborhood Watch can be as simple as joining an email list of neighbors to be notified of crime. Or if you are more the "Gladys Kravitz" type, we also need block coordinators. More details are here.
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Safety Tip #1 – The Check is in the Mail
(by Shannon Taylor, Forest Hill Neighborhood Watch Coordinator)
Everyone knows it’s time to pay taxes. Everyone knows some of us will mail to and receive checks from state and federal governments. Everyone knows, including criminals.
Criminals know how to steal your mail and how to cash YOUR government checks. Criminals know when to grab your outgoing mail that includes checks you’ve written to pay bills. Criminals know how to re-write your checks to cash it for any amount of money.
Be safer and smarter than criminals. Use a P.O. Box or a mailbox that locks to receive important mail. Never leave outgoing mail in an un-secure mailbox or door slot. Instead, deposit your mail directly into a locked mailbox. It’s worth the few extra minutes to protect your hard earned money from greedy criminals.
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Safety Tip #2 – Remove the opportunity.
(by Phil Licking, Forest Hill Neighborhood Webmaster)
We're all guilty of it to some degree: leaving the lawnmower in the front yard while you go for gas, leaving your briefcase on the front seat of the car, forgetting to tell the kids "put your bikes away before you come in for dinner." Most of the crime in our neighborhood is simply "theft of opportunity." Remove the opportunity:
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Always lock your garage or shed at night or when away from home. (Especially for structures with doors on the alley!)
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Never leave power tools, yard tools, bikes, etc. unattended. (It's amazing how fast they can grow legs and just walk away.)
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Never leave ladders up against the house.
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Avoid leaving ground floor windows wide open at night or when not at home.
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Be careful about leaving your front door open with just a storm door closed if you are in the back of your home or in your backyard. (Some criminals are brazen enough to just walk right in. Don't allow it.)
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Don't make your car a target: valuables in plain sight (even spare change in the cup holder) can lead to a smash & grab.
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Turn on those porch lights.
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"Woof-woof" will send many criminals running. Canine alarm systems don't cost much more than the fancy electronic kind, plus they can fetch. (We do live in "Dog Town", right?)
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If you're going out of town, tell one or two neighbors. Set a couple lamps on timers while you're gone.
My first summer in Forest Hill, I was the victim of a two-vehicle smash & grab. I started doing all of the above, and I've not had a problem in eight years. (I feel a lot safer than when I lived in the Fan!) We are smarter than the criminals. By living smarter, we will beat them.
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Richmond Police Department Too often, we see something suspicious but think "The cops won't think that's important." Wrong! Our Sector Lieutenant, Scott Booth, says "If it looks suspicious to you, it probably is, and we want to know about it."
911: emergencies
646-5100: non-emergencies
646-1945: Lieutenant Scott C. Booth, Sector 312, Cell: 317-9350 scott.booth@richmondgov.com.
In addition, if you have concerns about the security of your residence consider calling the Richmond Police Department’s Community Care Unit at 646-4395. The Community Care Unit will setup a time for a crime prevention officer to stop by your house and make a security assessment of it. After making the assessment, the officer will give specific recommendations on how you can further secure your home. This service from the RPD is free.
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