Be Safe and Secure

03/31/09

Did you know that most residential burglaries can be prevented? The Palm Desert Police Department offers the following suggestions to help keep your house and property safe and secure.

• Always lock your doors and windows, even if you will be gone for only a minute. Never leave a spare key under a doormat, in a flower pot, or on a door ledge.
• Ensure outside entrances have deadbolt locks with a strong, one-inch metal bar. If using padlocks, be sure that they are made of steel and kept locked at all times.
• Windows should have secure locks.
• Illuminate the exterior perimeter of your residence with motion or light sensor lights.
• Before going on vacation, stop mail and newspaper delivery or have a neighbor collect them on a daily basis.
• Consider purchasing an alarm system.
• Never open the door without knowing who is there.
• Record the make, model, and serial numbers of expensive computer, stereo, or television equipment. Keep the records in a safe, secure place, preferably out of the home.
• Consider engraving a driver’s license number on your valuables. Criminals do not want marked items because it makes them difficult to fence and easily identified as stolen property.
• Photograph items that cannot be engraved such as jewelry, silverware, and antiques and maintain a file of these items.

The Palm Desert Police Department is providing free child safety gun locks to those who request them. These locks can be affixed to a firearm to prevent it from accidentally discharging. They adjust to fit most firearms and can be easily removed with a key. The locks are available at the Palm Desert Police Sub-Stations located on the northwest corner of Hwy 111 and Monterey Avenue, the Albertson's Shopping Center at Washington Street and Avenue 42, or at the main station, 73-520 Fred Waring Drive. For more information, please call 836-1600.

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