The following Safety Tips can hopefully help you not to become a victim of crime.

We will update this section of our Hammond Neighborhood Crime Watch website when we see - or hear - of other Safety Tips.
 
Whether you are a renter or homeowner, you should always:

• Leave a light on when you’re gone. A quality utility timer can also be used to turn lights “on” and “off” automatically. Depending on the duration of your absence, leaving a TV “on” and “tuned in” to a Sports Channel like ESPN, for example, will make a potential burglar think that “the man of the house” is home. If you rent, purchase renter’s insurance. This is an affordable way to save you money if there is an accident or burglary.
• Have someone check on your place when you’re out of town; checking your mail, moving your car, mowing the grass, opening a window, etc…If you subscribe to a newspaper, stop delivery momentarily until your return. If a burglar sees newspapers piling up on a front porch, it’s a good indicator that nobody is at home.
• Always keep doors and windows locked. If necessary, purchase a security system. Use a peephole to see who’s knocking before you open the door. If you’re still unsure about who is there, question the stranger through the door. Ask to see a company I.D. when utility, cable, or service people come to your door.
•  Don’t leave notes on your door - or messages on your answering machine - indicating that you’re gone.
• Don’t hide a spare key under a “welcome” mat, a rock, a flower pot, etc… Don’t put I.D. tags on your key ring in the event that your keys are lost or stolen.
• Do not walk alone after dark. Contact a friend to walk with you. There is strength in numbers, and you’ll be getting some exercise at the same time. A good posture is also important. Walk with your head straight, arms swinging, with confidence and certainty.
• Get to know someone in the immediate vicinity, a person that you could call quickly in case of an emergency. Have these emergency numbers posted near your phone at home, as well as in the “mailbox” of “stored” phone numbers in your cell phone.
• To prevent Identity Theft, in the white space on the back of credit cards where a signature is required, write “Ask for Photo I.D.” with a permanent marker. A sales clerk, if they’re doing their job properly, will comply with these card instructions. It’s a good way to verify that you are who you say you are in the event that a purse or wallet is stolen or misplaced.
• Keep your car keys next to your bed on the night stand, dresser, or lamp table when you go to bed at night. If you think that someone is trying to get into your house or residence, or if you hear a noise outside, just press the “panic” alarm on your car key chain. Test it! It will go off from most everywhere in your home and will keep honking until your car battery runs down, or until you reset the alarm. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in, odds are that the burglar or rapist won’t stick around. After a few seconds, all of your neighbors will be looking out of their windows to see who’s out there - another thing the criminal doesn’t want. Try your panic alarm to make sure it works before you start to rely on it. Just remember that you must press the alarm button again to turn it “off”. Always carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot too, in case you’re approached by strangers.

The following information comes to us courtesy of Shannon LaForge - Courtroom Deputy to Judge Robert Junell - U.S. District Court for the Western District:

• The ELBOW is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, don’t hesitate! Quick thinking is always best when it comes to defending yourself.
• If a robber asks for your wallet or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM! Toss it away from you! Chances are that he’s more interested in your wallet/purse than you. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
• If you are thrown into the trunk of a car, KICK OUT the back tail lights. Stick your arm out of the hole(s) and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but EVERYBODY ELSE WILL! This has saved lives.
• Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc…and just sit - balancing their checkbook, making a list, and so on. DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get inside the car from the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to drive. As soon as you get into your car, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE!
• When getting into your car in a parking lot or parking garage, BE AWARE! Look around you, look into your car, the passenger side, driver’s side, the floor, and back seat. If you’re parked next to a big van, enter your car from the PASSENGER SIDE. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to het into their cars - ON THE DRIVER’S SIDE. Look at the car that is parked on both the driver’s and passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest to your car, you may want to walk back into the mall - or at work - and have a Security Guard/Policeman walk you back out.
• ALWAYS take the ELEVATOR instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and are a perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT.
• If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (A RUNNING TARGET) four in 100 times. Even with these odds, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ that is “hit”. RUN! (PREFERABLY IN A ZIG-ZAG PATTERN)
• If someone is in your car with a gun to your head, DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead, gun the engine and speed into something - ANYTHING - wrecking your car. That’s what we pay Insurance for. Your AIR BAG will save you. If the person (CRIMINAL) is in the back seat, they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run! CALL 911! It is better than having the authorities find your body in a remote location later.
• Women always seem to be a bit more sympathetic than men. STOP! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy - the infamous Serial Killer - was a good-looking, educated man. He always played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women, walking with a cane, or a limp, and often asking “for help” into his vehicle - or with his vehicle. This was when he abducted his next victim.
• CRYING BABY: It was recently reported by local authorities that a woman heard a crying baby on her front porch. She called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her, “Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” The lady then said that it sounded as if the baby had crawled near a window, and that she was worried it might crawl into the street and get run over. The policeman told her, “We already have a patrol unit on the way. Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.”
  Furthermore, he told her that they think a Serial Killer has a baby’s cry recorded and is using it to coax women out of their house - hoping that they think someone dropped off a baby. The officer hasn’t verified it yet, but he told her that the police department has had several calls from women, saying that they heard a baby’s cry outside their doors when they’re home alone at night. This “Crying Baby” theory was recently mentioned on “America’s Most Wanted” when a Serial Killer in Louisiana was profiled.