CANARYVILLE — There are some easy steps neighborhood folks can take to protect themselves and make the area a safer place.
CAPS Officer Tony Mejia shared some tips at the year’s first meeting Wednesday night at St. Gabriel, 4500 S. Wallace St.:
Be a good neighbor
If a suspicious person checks out your property when you're not around, your neighbor should pick up the phone and call the police.
“You might not like your neighbor. Guess what? He may not like you either, OK?” Mejia said. “The thinking is that nosy neighbor is going to call 911 if someone’s in the backyard or going through my front door or my back door or my side window.”
There are other benefits to being nice to your neighbors, he added.
“Make friends with your neighbors?” Mejia said. “You might get invited to a barbecue.”
Make sure your garage door is closed
In some of the recent burglaries that swept through the Deering District during the last two months, the point of entry was an open garage door.
"You leave, you hit the clicker, it might start to go down," Mejia said. "Guess what? It goes right back up. I learned the hard way."
Mejia said he recently left his garage door open as he drove away. Luckily, a neighbor called to let him know right away.
Don’t leave your car running
It’s been a big problem in the Deering District — people leaving their vehicles running when they go into the convenience store, fill up gas or pick up lottery tickets.
Most people who leave their cars on have the same excuse, Mejia said: "I’ll just be a minute."
“Well, in about 10 seconds, someone is going to drive off with it,” Mejia said. “If you’re not in your vehicle, your keys shouldn’t be there either.”
Don’t leave your stuff on the front seat
You might think, “The car’s locked, and I have an alarm. I’ll just leave my stuff on the seat.”
Mejia said, “They’re going to get in your vehicle if you leave stuff in there — even if it’s a gym bag. They might think, ‘That’s a nice gym bag... I’d like to have that gym bag,’ and they’ll take your gym bag.”
Check on your elderly and disabled neighbors
If you have a neighbor that’s elderly or handicapped, periodically make sure they're OK — especially during the worst stretches of winter.
“Do a well-being check,” Mejia said. “Don’t wait for something tragic to happen.”
One way to help out is to shovel the snow — or have the kids do it.
“Put ‘em outside," Mejia said, "give ‘em a little exercise.”
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