The Stone Park Police Department urges all citizens to empower themselves with important safety tips to better protect yourself against crime. Read on about these most current topics the department has to offer.

Protecting Your Home

Most home burglars do not give great amounts of thought into planning the job and assessing the benefits vs. dangers. But understanding how they select a target can go a long way in reducing your chances of being a victim. Burglars do not want to be seen. Therefore, they prefer to enter a home while it is unoccupied. One way to reduce your chances of being a burglary victim is to make the home appear occupied when it is not. Here are some things a family can do:

Use automatic timers on lights and radios when away from home. Turn up the volume on the radio so it can be heard from a outside window or door.
Have your telephone calls forwarded if possible when away from home. Burglars will sometimes check to see if someone is home by making a telephone call to the home.
Do not let strangers inside your home. Burglars sometimes like to "case" the home by posing as a motorist in distress or other guise. Once inside, they look for valuables that are worth stealing and then come back later when the homeowner is not home.
If you DO have shrubs and bushes, select ones with thorns to deter potential intruders from hiding in them.
If away for more than a day, have a trusted neighbor pick up the mail and newspaper. If possible, do not have either stopped. That gives information about you being away from home to others whom you do not know.
If you have children, discuss home security with them, such as not talking with strangers about their home, its contents, or family schedules.