Neighborhood Safety

Unfortunately no neighborhood is completely immune to crime. However, there are steps you can take to help keep your family and your neighborhood safe.

Know where your children are. Have your children tell you or ask permission before leaving the house and give them a time to check in or be home. When possible, have them leave a phone number of where they will be.

Help children learn important phone numbers. Have your children practice reciting their home phone number and address, and your work and cell phone numbers. If they have trouble memorizing these, write them down on a card and have them carry it at all times. Tell your children where you will be and the best way to reach you.

Set limits on where your children can go in your neighborhood. Do you want them crossing busy roads? Playing in alleys or abandoned buildings? Are there certain homes in your neighborhood that you don't want your children to go to?

Get to know your children's friends. Meet their parents before letting your children to go to their home and keep a list of their phone numbers. If you can't meet their parents, call and talk to them. Ask what your children might do at their house and if they will be supervised.

Choose a safe house in your neighborhood. Pick a neighbor's house where your children can go if they need help. Point out other places they can go for help, like stores, libraries, and police stations.

Teach children to settle arguments with words, not fists. Role-play talking out problems, walking away from fist fights, and what to do when confronted with bullies. Remind them that taunting and teasing can hurt friends and make enemies.

Work together with your neighbors. Watch out for suspicious and unusual behavior in your neighborhood. Get to know your neighbors and their children so you can look out for one another.

Personal Safety

Many people cite crime and fear of crime as a determining factor in how they feel about their neighborhood, but in fact criminal victimization in 2004 was at its lowest level since 1973, according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Figures for murder, rape, robbery, and assault were highest in the early 1980s, peaking in 1982 at 52.3 victimizations per 1,000 people age 12 and over. But by 2004 this figure had dropped to 21.1 per 1,000. The decline in violent victimization was experienced by persons in every demographic category surveyed - gender, race, origin, and household income.

Young people ages 12 to 24 were still the victims of the most violent crimes (an average of 83.7 victimizations per 1,000 people), while those 65 or older were victimized at a much lower rate (9.1 per 1,000 persons). While violent crime was down, crimes that used modern technology were up: identity theft cost consumers some $5 billion in 2004, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Preventing crime is everyone’s business - children, youth, adults, and seniors must all work together to protect themselves, their families, and their neighborhoods.

Tips

Ask law enforcement for a free home security survey.

Make sure you have sturdy metal or solid wood doors at all entries into your home and that sliding glass and similar doors are properly secured.

Trim the shrubbery around your doors and windows so crooks don’t have a place to hide.

Do not give out personal information over the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or know with whom you are dealing.

If you’re a senior, use direct deposit for your Social Security check and other regular payments.

If you notice someone following you when you’re driving, head for the nearest busy, brightly lighted area. Write down the license number and make and model of the car. Call 911 or your local emergency number.

Always lock car doors and take the keys when you leave your car, even if you’ll be gone “just for a minute.”

Don’t leave valuables in view in the car. Leave them in the trunk or, better yet, take them home immediately.

As you walk down the street or through the parking garage, walk alertly and assertively. Don’t weigh yourself down with too many parcels. Take several loads to the car if necessary.

If you carry a purse, hold it close to your body; if a wallet, keep it in a front pocket.

Don’t display your cash or any other inviting targets such as pagers, cell phones, hand-held electronic games, or expensive jewelry and clothing.

When traveling, carry only the credit and ATM cards you absolutely need. Leave the others at home, safely stored.

Make sure your home is secure when you are traveling—all deadbolts locked, lights left on timers, newspapers stopped, and mail held at the post office or collected by a trusted neighbor who has your travel schedule.

What parents can do...

Parents are one of the greatest influences on their children and their first and best teachers. Young children learn to talk, walk, and interact by watching their parents. As children grow up, they look to their parents to provide guidance, information, nurturing, and expectations. Even during the teenage years when many parents feel they have little influence over their children’s decisions, teens look to them to determine what’s right and wrong. Teens say that their parents are more influential in their decisions than friends, teachers, coaches, and the news media.

For this reason, parents are also the best resource to keep their children safe and healthy. As children look to parents for knowledge and guidance, parents can help children develop the skills they need to make positive choices today and for the rest of their lives.

The following topics are common issues and safety concerns that children face as they grow up. Follow the links for information on the topic and how parents can act to keep their children safe, give them skills to protect themselves and resist negative peer pressure, and engage them in positive activities. Also, read NCPC brochures and tipsheets for advice that you can print out and take with you, and share with others.