Burglary prevention tips!

For a period of about a week the Seaford Harbor section of Seaford saw 5 burglaries/attempted burglaries. This as expected put the community on edge. The Nassau County Police Department and the community did a great job and together a individual was taken into custody. The Seaford/Wantagh area is not immune to burglaries even though the 7th precinct in 2017 saw a 17% reduction in crime, the lowest crime rate of any of the eight Nassau County precincts. To help safeguard your house in the future,

here are some burglary prevention tips courtesy of the Nassau County Police Department.

Do

• Lock doors, windows and gates when leaving the house.
• Make alarm stickers visible on doors and windows;they should be easily seen from the streets s sidewalk.
• Take pictures of all your valuable and mark then with your driver’s license number to make them easy to trace.
• Set inside lights on timers to turn on at dusk.
• Install outside motion detector lights at the corners of your home. Make sure they are high enough so an intruder is unable to unscrew the bulbs.
• Use dead bolts with a one-inch throw to make the mechanism difficult to pry open.
• Ensure that sliding glass doors and windows have metal pins or a metal bar so they cannot be pried open.

Don’t

• DO NOT leave newspapers and packages in the doorway. Arrange for a delivery time when you or a neighbor can pick them up.
• DO NOT leave garbage cans at the curb al day; of you cannot stay home, use plastic bags instead of garbage cans.
• DO NOT let people know you are not home by posting on the internet or on voicemail.
• DO NOT let shrubbery overgrown and hide windows and doors.
• DO NOT leave valuables out. Store them in a non discrete location, avoiding bedroom drawers and obvious places.
• DO NOT leave driveways empty. Of possible have a neighbor park in your driveway.

These tips can make your home less of a target for those canvassing the neighborhood. Remember to call 911 if you see anything suspicious. Another way you can prevent your home from becoming a target is to call the precinct direct when you are going on vacation or away from your house during renovations. They will take what is called a vacant home report. They will take information on when you are away, do you have someone with access to your home and do you have an alarm. They will take this detailed report and have the patrol car in your area pay extra attention to your home.

I did raise some suggestions at two recent public meeting with the police department. The first suggestion was to create an email list of community organizations, civic groups, youth sports and the PTA’s to help disseminate crime tips, wanted persons and information bulletins to the communities. The second was the prospect of the precinct publishing a weekly precinct crime report to be made available to the community. Others suggested better communication with the school districts. I hope the Police Department will implement these ideas.

I also urge residents of Wantagh/Seaford to join the Wantagh Seaford Homeowners Association’s Neighborhood Watch group on Facebook. This is a group where we discuss crime/quality of life issues affecting our communities as well as share crime prevention tips. Neighbors looking out for neighbors lead to a safe community. The link is below.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/wantaghseafordwatch/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Also like the Wantagh Seaford Homeowners Association’s main Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Wantagh-Seaford-Homeowners-Association-WSHA-106550622712950/

Christopher Carini is currently the Vice Presisdent of Seaford for the Wantagh Seaford Homeowner's Association as well as the Director of the Wantagh Seaford Homeowner's Association Neighborhood Watch Commitee. He is also the administrator of the Wantagh Seaford Homeowner's Association's Neighborhood Watch Facebook group and Co-Administrator of the Wantagh Seaford Homeowner's Associations main Facebook page. Chris is also a member of the Nassau County’s police commissioners community council for legislative district 19.