RISE IN PROPERTY CRIMES
You may have heard about positive outlooks in hiring and the national economy this year, but unfortunately, violent and property crime rates have had the opposite result. According to the Department of Justice's latest report, "Criminal Victimization, 2012," violent and property crime rates increased for the second year in a row.
The report, which was released in October 2013, notes that the overall violent crime rate (including rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault) rose from 22.6 victimizations per 1,000 people in 2011 to 26.1 in 2012.
Likewise, the overall property crime rate (including household burglary, theft and motor-vehicle theft) increased from 138.7 per 1,000 households in 2011 to 155.8 in 2012.
Residents in urban areas once again experienced the highest rate of violent crime, the report notes, but which cities had the highest risk is not specified.
ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE'S LATEST REPORT ... CRIME RATES INCREASED FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.
THE LIGHT OF DAY
You lock up your house tighter than a drum when you go to sleep, but you aren't as concerned during daylight hours, when burglars would have to be awfully brazen to attempt a break-in while visible. This may just be the wrong approach if the latest FBI data is any indication.
According to new statistics that the FBI recently posted on its website, out of 2.1 million burglaries in 2012, fewer than a half million (428,411) occurred at residences during the night. However, a startling 830,518 burglaries occurred at residences during the day.
Why might this be? While the FBI doesn't offer any opinions on what may have caused these results, chances are high that burglars know you’re home at night but that your house is temptingly vacant during the day. In addition, many people don’t set alarms during the daytime, making your home easy pickings when the sun is shining.
TIP: Keep your home armed with a security system during the day, and if you live in an area where burglaries are common, consider getting a video surveillance system that you can monitor remotely via the Internet. In addition, having a dog in the house that will bark at intruders while you’re away is another great deterrent.
UNSCRUPULOUS MOVERS
Even if you cast a cautious eye to every person who rings your doorbell, chances are high that you would readily open your door for a moving company that you’ve hired and happily invite them into your house with access to your belongings. But moving fraud is on the rise, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has offered the following tips for people who are moving to ensure that they don’t fall victim to this growing trend:
- Don't hire a mover that offers a too-good-to¬be-true, lowball offer over the phone without seeing what's in your home. A common scam is that they'll load your items into their truck and then demand more money before they'll deliver or unload them.
- Never pay the moving company a large deposit or full payment prior to the move.
- Avoid companies that don't have a local address or information about licensing or insurance.
- Ensure that the moving company has an actual name. If you call and they say, "Movers," chances are that they could be unreputable.
- If the movers show up at your house in a rental truck or a company-marked truck, that's cause for suspicion, the government says.
- The movers that you hire should also give you a copy of "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move," a booklet that federal regulations require them to give to customers. If your mover raises any suspicions, then move on to another company rather than give them access to every possession in your home.
BURGLARY TEST
You may get them on your house all the time—stickers and flyers advertising everything from a new pizza joint to a lawn care service—but what you don't know is that some of these advertisements arejust a ploy to find out how often you're home.
Police departments in scores of cities across the country have reported that burglars will post fake flyers or stickers on your front door or mailbox advertising bogus services. If you don't remove the item from your property, the burglar will assume you're out of town and will rob your house.
TIP: To avoid falling victim to this type of scheme, make sure you remove all flyers, stickers and advertisements from your property each day. If you're going out of town, ask a neighbor to monitor your home and remove any such flyers.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment