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Back to Crime Watch page: Date: Fri Aug 24, 2001 2:02 pm Subject: Follow-Up on Meeting For those of you that could not attend the WOL Neighborhood Watch Meeting last Thursday evening, here is a synopsis: I introduced Deputy Sheriff Munoz and his main topic was home invasions and how to help protect your home against these intrusions. One thing he suggested was to put additional locks on all windows because the slide locks are so flimsy. I suggested drilling a small hole through the two window frames where both frames line up with each other, then install a proper sized cotter pin. This type of lock is easily removed from the inside Put the pin along either side of the window if possible where it will be out of site from the outside. I do not like key locks because of finding the key in lieu of an emergency, such as a major fire, can be a deterrent to making a safe escape through a window if necessary. Any locks you add, be sure to teach your children how to fully use them Another safeguard is to trim shrubbery to make your home visible rather than a blinding spot from the street. A burglar can hide behind tall shrubbery and enter the home undetected. Another safeguard is to install two and one half or three inch screws in the strike plate of all exterior doors. The strike plate is the metal plate on the door frame that your door latches in to when it is closed. All builders put in short screws that do not reach the door frame and this makes the latch very weak and can be broken easily. The longer screws cure this problem. Another safeguard is to put a pin tumbler lock with a minimum of five pins in it's mechanism. This is a lock that locks from inside and out with a key. The key should then be left in the inside lock at all times when people are present for emergency exit. Also you should have a deadbolt lock on each door that needs a bolt that extends at least one inch when in the locked position. There are special locks for sliding patio doors, however, these can be broken in most cases. I suggest a piece of wood or steel to lay in the track when the door is closed. There are additional locks that can be easily installed available at your hardware store. These normally are temporary locks that can be removed when you want to open the door. One more suggestion to make exterior doors more intrusion free is to drill a hole in the door frame at the hinge side and also a matching hole in the door at the hinge side, install a tight fitting steel pin in the frame hole that is long enough to penetrate the holes in the door when the door is closed. This should be done at the top and bottom of the doors about one foot from the top or bottom frames. We also had a guest speaker, Steve Southern, whom experienced a home intrusion at his house on Perigrine. He left home at 8:05am to go to Starbucks, returned at 8:35am and his home had been ransacked. Several items were stolen. The two 19yr old boys were later arrested that evening. Steve let everyone know how vulnerable they are at any time of the day or night. He also instilled some of the above safety measures since this incidence. We had a good attendance and several people asked several questions. Several people brought refreshments, I cooked hot-dogs with all the trimmings and we all had a very informative and good time. Thank all of you that brought refreshments and I appreciate all of you that attended. I have a pamphlet from the Sheriff's Department that explains about door and window locks thoroughly. If you would like one, just give me a call. Nathan Gaskill WOL Neighborhood Watch Chairperson Ph: 281-897-0577
7/16/01 -
6/4/01 - Hello Neighbors: Note to Block Captains 5/18/01 Hello Everybody: I am sending this email out a little early, but I am trying to get everything organized before our baby boy is due around 5/29 and I have much less time. 1. I am now referring to our group as Neighborhood Watch, I don't believe there is any reason to call it Crime Watch! Any comments on that? 2. The June Neighborhood Watch meeting is Thur., June 14th. Start telling your neighbors! We are trying the second Thursday of the month this time. I still have only heard back from one individual about the best time to hold weeknight meetings. Her suggestion was actually Mon. and Tues. nights. Let me know your input and any input from your neighbors who might attend a monthly meeting. See which days are best and which week during the month might be best ( first Tuesday, last Thur. .......???). 3. Be searching for a co-captain(s) for your block to help with any support we may need or to attend a meeting that you can't make it to. Some blocks should actually have a couple block captains and a couple co-captains. Keep an eye out over the next few months for candidates. 4. Be sure and give me any reports of activity on your block as you get them. Give them to me while the details are fresh on your mind. Keep a dedicated notebook somewhere you can access it when you need it and record the information. I want to include a Neighborhood Watch Activity Report each month in the newsletter. You will see one on this next newsletter. 5. Does anybody have any suggestions of anything else we can do to promote Neighborhood Watch or organize ourselves better? What else can I do to help you? What other types of updates or information can I provide you with? 6. We need to start organizing a telephone network chart. This should provide us with a plan where we can call each other to notify every block captain of an urgent event that is taking place or has just taken place in the area. It needs to be simple and quick and reach everybody ASAP without any one individual putting much effort into it. Ideally, it would reach 25 block captains. We might even want a plan that contacts the main entrance block captains first. Think it over and give us your input. Keep in mind that these phone contacts need to be very brief and to the point, no social calls on these occasions. 7. Neighborhood Watch Meeting - I think it would help create a positive image of Neighborhood Watch and help keep everybody motivated if we could plan on having a monthly block captain meeting every month. If we show a consistant and organized group we will continue to attract neighbors who see our efforts for our community. There is no reason to make this a long meeting, just a quick meeting that deals with the business at hand. Is it possible to conduct this meeting on the same night we have the monthly Neighborhood Watch meetings, either before or after? Let me know your preferences. 8. Keep promoting the WOL Email List to your neighbors. I will have some small cards at the next meeting that give the URL to join the List. You can them pass out to your neighbors as you see them. 9. Be sure and get out and meet your new neighbors and let them know you are their Neighborhood Watch Block Captain. There is no longer a WOL Welcoming Committee! I believe our group could be the next best effort at having some sort of welcoming for our newest neighbors. Let's give this a try and see if we can't all keep a few WOL Auto Stickers and new WOL TelephoneDirectories at our homes to give to the new neighbors. We should now something about the 2001 WOL Directories in the next month or so. I'll bring some stickers to the next meeting; be sure and get two or three. I know this is a lot of information, but I just wanted to get everybody involved and thinking about a few issues for our next meeting. Please give us some feedback. Regards, Stewart Angst Nathan Gaskill Neighborhood Watch Co-Chairs May 3rd meeting summary:
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