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Security Strategy & Plan
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The security of the
neighborhood is of utmost importance to each resident and
property owner and we all want to do the most that we can to
assure the safety of our residents and protection of our
property. While we may be at a loss to greatly change the world
around us, the amount of crime that takes place, or to insulate
ourselves from the outside with a wall, we can take steps to
deter crime and protect ourselves and our property. A logical
approach to accomplish this goal is to analyze what has been
done in the past (what worked and what did not), where we are
now in terms of crime in our area, and to know what options we
have in order to improve our personal safety and property
protection. The result of this research, and exploration of
options and available programs, comprises our security plan for
Timberlake Estates.
The two main components of
the “Safety and Security Plan” for our neighborhood are:
Prevention – Security and Safety Awareness
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National Night Out
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Neighborhood Watch Program
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Targeted Patrols on July 4th, New
Year’s Eve, etc
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Information on the TEPOA Website and
in the Timbergram
Incident Tracking - Identify Trends and
Progress Toward Improvement
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Reports from Law Enforcement
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Reports from Residents and Property
Owners
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Partnerships with other communities to
Develop & Utilize Best Practices
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An Enduring System for the Future
Reading about neighborhood
security and talking with law enforcement makes it apparent that while
we cannot stop the criminals, there is a great deal we can do to deter
crime and protect ourselves. Many of the best deterrents are common
sense approaches to how we secure our homes, windows, doors, vehicles,
and provide lighting to our properties. Driving around the neighborhood
observing, we see many, many areas where we can improve quickly and
easily to achieve immediate results. A lot of information is available
from law enforcement, through national programs, on the internet, and in
printed form that we will make available to anyone requesting it.
We are officially
registered with the National Association of Town Watch which sponsors
the annual “National Night Out”, a world-wide crime prevention event
that last year involved 10,750 communities and 34.8 million people that
is designed to: (1) Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; (2)
Generate support for, and participation in, local law enforcement
programs; (3) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community
partnerships; and (4) Send a message to criminals letting them know that
neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. The association assists
with material to promote and train for this event which will take place
this year on Tuesday, August 1st.
A basic first step in
organizing our Safety and Security Plan is to participate in this
important event and begin the process of protecting ourselves. Please
come out to support our local law enforcement, our neighborhood, and
ourselves.
Beyond the National Night
Out, we have plans to be a Neighborhood Watch community if we can gather
enough interest to qualify. This will not be an easy task and usually
requires about 70 % participation. We feel this can be accomplished with
a commitment from you and we would like to have it started by the end of
this year. Information packets are available on-line at
www.usaonwatch.org or we will
provide copies of the program and home safety check lists upon request.
As a community, we can
deter crime and protect ourselves and our property if we work diligently
toward this common goal. No one is going to do it for us and if we sit
back and wait, the outcome is almost surely predictable. We are not
starting from scratch, as these programs are thoroughly developed and
results proven. Anyone interested in helping for upcoming events,
organizing communication blocks as captains, getting the word out, etc.,
please contact any of the Board members for direction. Let’s become
proactive and start improving our neighborhood from a security
standpoint and it will grow into a relationship that builds a strong
community.
The choice is ours.
Security Tips (top)
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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. Makes sense to me...
Besides, I like free stuff that works and makes sense.
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