People please be CAREFUL!!

[G/A-body]

There are a lot of great suggestions by everyone. Craig's points about knowing your neighbors and looking out for each other, one of the best safeguards there is. My neighbors and I look out for one another and it has made a difference more than once. They are quicker to call the police than the alarm company. Plus the response time of the Sheriff's Department can be long. A few years back I had a pushy salesman walk into my yard and I told him he needed to leave. He continued to push the issue and I threatened to call the police which didn't faze him. Finally I told him that I was a police officer and if he didn't leave I would arrest him. He still wanted to sale me "cleaning products" I didn't want. Finally I physically removed him from my property and he played the "race card". If you see something out of order call the police, I am always glad to respond to something suspicious that is legitimate than have to take a burglary report or something worse. My department still does house checks when people go on vacation. One more suggestion. Inventory your property, take pictures, record serial numbers. If you become a victim of a property crime this is very helpful information. I can't begin to count the number of times I have stopped people with what I know to be stolen property and no way to prove it.

Be Safe.

Robert