Madison Park

     I would like to point out during this Season of many of Our Neighbors leaving to go out of Town for the Holidays or for an extended time from your Homes that are a few things that we all can do to make Ourselves and Our Homes safer this year:

     1).  If you are going to be out of Town for a long Day or for an extended amount of time, please let one or more of your Neighbors that you know personally or your Block Captain know when you are going to be away.  Even if you are going to have a Friend or Someone else checking on your Home.  A Neighbor or two will be closer by and able to keep a more regular check on your Home.

     2).  Let your Neighbor/s know who should or shouldn't be coming around your Home at any given time of the Day/Night.  Let them know if there will be any Cars left in your driveway or coming by your Home.  Try to give a good description of any Car or Cars that they can expect to see, otherwise, they should call 911 to report someone suspicious or a suspicious vehicle.

     3).  If you have timers that you can set up for your Lights in certain Rooms to come on Everyday while you are gone or if at all possible, go out and purchase a couple of the timers. They are not very expensive and are very effective in making someone from the outside think that there is someone Home.  Try to set the Timers to come on and go off at different times for different Rooms.  This makes it seem more like someone is at Home going through their regular routine.  If you have someone coming by, it would be great if they can burn your Front and Back Porch Lights at Night.   Also, if you can leave a radio on while you are gone to have noise inside of your Home, this is useful. 

     4).   I would ask that Everyone, whether you are going out of Town or not, PLEASE BURN YOUR FRONT PORCH every Night, everyday of the year, this really does help to deter 'Individuals from your House and your Neighbors at Night, plus it helps to light up Our Neighborhood Streets a bit more.  This only costs, literally, pennies on the Month for your Duke Bill.  But the safety is priceless.

    5).  Try to keep your Blinds/Curtains/Shades closed or at least pulled/drawn or turned in a position as not to be able to see directly into your Home.  As I have been driving through Our Neighborhood recently, I have been very surprised as to how many Homes I can see directly into from the Street as I drive by.  I know if I can see into Our Neighbors Homes this easily from my Car then Anyone that has any Ideas of committing breaking/entering into someone's Home, they have the perfect opportunity of seeing whose Homes might be worth the time.  You may not think that Anyone would be interested in taking the time to break into your Home for what you have, but I can assure you as the Police will agree, these Days, Criminals  will take anything to make a buck.  Even if once they break into your Home, they may not take much or nothing at all,  but the fact that someone was in your Home is extremely unnerving to say the least.

    6).  If you have a Security System, please activate, whether your away or at Home.  If you are going to be away for an extended amount of time, call your Security Company, make sure that your contact info is up to date, let them know you will be gone from the Date you are leaving to the date of your return.  If you will have someone coming by your Home to check on things, let your Security Company know this info, also. This way, your Security Company knows to call the Police or the Fire Dept. immediately if they get the signal from your Home.  It will save valuable time in their response to getting to your Home.i

    7).  Please make sure that your Home Address is visible from the Street easily seen for Our Emergency Responders.  This was mentioned to me by a Police Officer and a Firefighter that there are many Homes in Our Neighborhood that if Emergency Responders were called out to a Home, particularly at Night, valuable time would be wasted from not being able to find your Home because the Address of your House isn't visible.

    Last year during the Holidays, Our Neighborhood along with many throughout the City were hit with Home Breaking & Entering cases.  Unfortunately, the majority of these Homes were hit while the Homeowners were out of Town and were not reported until after they returned, which was on average anywhere from 3 Days to a couple of Weeks.  This makes it even more difficult for the Police to try and find the Criminals or to try and put extra Patrols on at certain times when the Crimes are committed, since there isn't an exact time known or even a reasonable "window' of time.  I hope that you will read over these suggestions and make use of each.  I really want Everyone of Our Neighbors to have the opportunity to have a wonderful, safe and relaxing Holiday Season this year!  Let's take the Steps to make it a Crime Free Season for Ourselves & Our Neighbors this Year!!

REMEMBER TO BE AWARE AND TO CALL 911 IF YOU SEE ANYONE OR ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS!!!   ALSO, A REMINDER THAT  SCHOOLS ARE OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS AS OF THIS PAST FRIDAY UNTIL THE FIRST OF THE YEAR