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Safety Tips
The following tips help keep you, your family, and your valuables safe from injury and theft.
Top Ten Crime Prevention Tips
- Don't Leave Items of Value in Your Car. Thefts from cars are very common in Danvers, with its numerous commercial and residential parking lots. Purses, wallets, laptop computers, iPods, briefcases, and GPS receivers are stolen from cars every week. Whether shopping, dining, seeing a movie, or parking your car overnight-take your valuables with them or hide them, preferably in the trunk.
- Use Police and Other Resources to Escape Abusive Relationships. You are most likely to be assaulted by someone you know. Don't wait to get hurt-report threats, aggression, and abuse to police, and use our resources to get away.
- Cultivate Good Relationships with Neighbors. Vandalism, thefts, harassment, and violence are common between neighbors who don't get along. Conversely, neighbors with good relations watch out for each other's property and families.
- Invest in Good Locks for Your Home and Business-and Use Them.Danvers is a quiet community, but residential and commercial burglaries do happen. Most burglars are unskilled, and good locks stop them. Put strong deadbolts on your doors, and window stops on your vulnerable first-floor windows.
- Don't Let Your Teenaged Children's Friends Find Out Where You Keep Your Valuables. Many burglaries and thefts are committed by people who have had access to your house; restrict access to certain areas and enforce these restrictions with your children.
- Carry Only as Many Credit Cards as You Need, and Keep Contact Numbers Handy. If your wallet or purse is stolen, thieves will probably try to use your credit and debit cards immediately. Call your credit card companies as soon as you can and report your cards stolen.
- If a Family Member Exhibits Signs of Drug Abuse, Hide Your Valuables and Checks. Drug addiction is a growing problem on the North Shore, and many addicts begin stealing from their families before they commit crimes against strangers. Help your loved one through his or her problem, but in the meantime, watch your cash, checks, credit cards, and ATM cards.
- Don't Fall For It. Don't be blinded by scams. If you have to send money to get money, it's a scam. If a stranger sends you checks or traveler's checks and asks you to wire him part of the money, it's a scam. If it seems "too good to be true," it's a scam. Be familiar with the most common scams, and if someone tries to fool you, report him to the police.
- Report Suspicious Activity to the Police. Many crimes-in-the-making are witnessed by people who don't bother to report them. If you see someone circling a neighbor's house, or peering into cars in a local store's parking lot, or wearing a ski mask on a warm day, call the police.
- Report Crimes to the Police. If you are the victim of theft, vandalism, violence, or some other crime, call or visit the police, or use our online reporting form. Don't assume your crime is "too minor" or "the police can't do anything." Your crime may be part of a pattern or series, and your report may be the key we need to solve it.