Page 10 May 2015 Police advise Arcadians to be vigilent, good neighbors By Kourtney Seaton Home burglaries are among the preventable crimes that rely on communities interacting and taking steps to protect themselves, according to Phoenix police. Phoenix Police Sgt. Vince Lewis said, “It’s about getting outside, getting to know your neighbors and being a part and active member of the community.” The successful programs Lewis has witnessed are generated within the community and involve the of fi cers that respond to their locations. Community action of fi cers assigned to each precinct get involved in the community meetings, including neighborhood associations or faith-based organizations, Lewis said. “They host a program called ‘Coffee with a Cop,’ an opportunity for people to get out and rub elbows with the uniformed, the commanders, the lieutenants and so forth who work their neighborhoods. Community members can voice their concerns and really get to know us,” he noted. Phoenix Police Of fi cer Ben Carro is the community action of fi cer for Arcadia, Biltmore and Piestewa Peak area from the Phoenix Police Mountain View Precinct. He said the biggest problem in Arcadia is property crime related to burglary, theft and vehicle break-in. “When it comes to preventing property crimes, it’s all about awareness,” Carro said. He noted that the police ask the public to identify suspicious activity as it relates to a crime. Police want residents to be aware of more than the burglary itself. They want people in the area to notice the actions that take place beforehand, including suspicious vehicles circling neighborhoods, as well as people knocking on doors and then snooping around the house or even in alleyways. More money drives more property crime in an area, Carro said. Locking doors, setting security alarms and keeping valuable items out of plain sight can help prevent property crimes. “The uniformed can only be spread so thin. Communities need to be aware and help in preventing crime,” he said. He added that personal awareness of your own property and surrounding neighbors helps. The program Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is a place for homeowners to get tips like lighting up property, keeping it clean, trimming vegetation “so there’s no dark, hidden spots in front of access points,” Lewis said. What’s changed in recent years, Lewis said, is that people don’t spend as much time outside interacting with neighbors. “We have to turn our eyes to our front yards and the streets and be an active part of it,” Lewis said. He remarked that neighborhoods that look lived in, with people who are connected, is the best effort to take to prevent crimes that “tend to be of an opportunistic nature.” Lewis said that it comes down to what people are willing to do to protect their property. He also stated that getting to know a local community action officer and connecting as a group to be a part of what is going on in the area is a good start. Currently, there are online resources to connect with neighbors like Nextdoor.com. “It’s less a social media, more a connected media,” Lewis said. It organizes people into neighborhoods and allows for conversation among people who live close by. Lewis said that reporting crimes alone does not necessarily prevent them; however, changing the factor(s) that created the opportunity for those crimes may make all the difference. Some prevention programs include Block Watch and Phoenix Neighborhood Patrol. Detective Brian Kornegay said these prevention programs “educate residents in crime prevention techniques and encourage residents to take an active role in their neighborhoods.” The Phoenix Neighborhood Patrol Program is coordinated by Kornegay, he said, noting, “PNP differs from Block Watch in residents proactively patrol their neighborhoods.” Participants must attend a four-hour class, pass a criminal background check and agree to follow a set of rules. The class is offered at least six times per year. “This is a high-visibility, non-confrontational program,” Kornegay said. “Some of the topics taught in the PNP class are observation skills, liability, communications, home security and patrol procedures.” The PNP program has trained over 2,900 Phoenix residents since it began in 1994, he said. If you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, report it to the police by calling Crime Stop at 602-262-6151 or call 911 for emergencies. 4280 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, Suite 108 Open Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 602-840-4655 | www.YourMattress.net Your Mattress is a Kingsdown® Factory direct mattress boutique offering a full line of Kingsdown® Coil Spring and Memory Foam Mattresses ranging from the most elegant to the most affordable. Enjoy our relaxed and cozy showroom with a no pressure sales approach designed to help you select the right mattress at the right price. Text Sleep to 90210 and receive $160 Mattress Protector with any Mattress purchase over $500 Lie on the bedMATCH TM Bed. Get your custom, color coded recommendation based on 18 statistical measurements and over 1,000 calculations. 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