Deanne arranged a mini-seminar on crime prevention for neighbors in the Decatur Heights neighborhood of Decatur, GA from 10:30 to 11:30 on Saturday, 4/21/2012.
More in the continuation
Deputy Chief Keith Lee of the Decatur Police Department reviewed recent crime in the neighborhood and Decatur, provided some healthful hints, and fielded questions.
As you'll hear in the recording, Decatur saw a spike in three areas of theft-related crime in March:
Stolen cars (majority near southern border of City)
Car break-ins (also mostly near the southern city line, but we did have one in DH recently)
Identity theft (typically related to income tax filing - a problem all over the country)
He noted Decatur hasn't seen a "cat burglar" (who gets a rush out of burglarizing homes at night while the occupants are sleeping) in about eight years. That one was caught. Recent burglaries are typically during the day when the burglar thinks nobody is home. It behooves you to make noise (movement, TV, radio) so it's clear you are home. A dog is also a great home defender, if just by the noise it can make.
Click on the bar below to hear his comments and most of the Q&A session. It's about 41 minutes long. [Apologies for the noise at the start and in some places. The recording arrangement was less than optimum, but you can hear what is being said.]
In response to a question precipitated by the Zimmerman/Martin case in Florida, his advice was to always call 911 whenever you see anything which makes you wonder if you should call 911 (letting the PD sort it out) and to not do anything which could make the situation worse. Don't put yourself in jeopardy. Concentrate on being a good witness.
As he responded in the recording, [paraphrasing here] don't hesitate to report anything suspicious, for fear of "profiling." The fact you call 911 doesn't mean someone will be arrested. If the person(s) can provide a reasonable explanation of why they are in our neighborhood and doing what they are doing, they will be free to proceed on their way.
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Then, Mr. Duncan Contrell, doing business as "The Entry Enforcer," who has already reinforced some homes in the neighborhood to prevent kickins (easy with typical doors and locks) showed how to reinforce and security doors and windows ("home intrusion prevention"), either by yourself or using his service.
He showed products we can buy and install, or have him install, which can beef up door and lock frames and secure windows. Here are a couple of examples:
He also showed examples of security metal doors and security storm doors.
Click on the bar below to hear a 10-minute sampling of what he had to see (though a video is really needed to see what he's holding):
You can reach Duncan at 404.289.6960 (ofc) 770.720.6269 (cell) or duncan@entryenforcer.com. For more information, see his website: EntryEnforcer.com.
He was recently featured in a Decatur-Avondale Patch article.
By way of interest, Duncan is also a woodworking craftsman and handyman, calling himself "The Educated Craftsman).
