Come out to October 24, 2019 to the Prairie Mall from 2-5:30pm to see your local Rural Crime Watch Directors and learn more about our organization.

This week is Crime Prevention Week so to mark the occasion GPDRCW is doing a website blitz. We are adding an article on Crime Prevention every day of the week. The first article is on Crime Watch and how reporting incidents helps the community and the RCMP.

The information we fan out comes from one of two sources each time – the members phone in or the RCMP puts out a press release that generates a call. The call is set up with Dial My Calls and can be sent immediately or be set for any time in the future.

Crime prevention is being aware of your surroundings — making sure you lock up and take keys out of vehicles, watch out for your neighbours – know what they drive and when they may be away.

Watch vehicles in your area that do not belong. If there is someone where they should not be, record and report. If there is a crime in progress, call the RCMP. If it is something that is suspicious, call crime watch. We can get the word out so members can watch for that vehicle or person. We may even tell you to phone the RCMP. If it is a second opinion you want, call crime watch – that is what we do.

Over the past years we have given out many ideas on how to prevent crime. Now would be a good time to run over a few of those ideas.

• Put up your crime watch member sign
• Have gates on your driveway
• Have security cameras and even contract a security company to monitor you place
• Be involved in the community, know your neighbors. Exchange phone numbers so you know where to call if you spot something suspicious in their yard
• Use products like Trace to mark your personal items so they can then be identified if they should be stolen. This is a great deterrent because thieves do not want to be caught with marked items
• When you spot something suspicious call 780 831 4390 (G.P. District Rural Crime Watch) or 780 830 9701 (RCMP)

We want to hear from you!

A new and innovative resource was rolled out this previous Fall. Crime Mapping is a specialty website where you can access information about local crime. You will find a map on the site with icons that represent a variety of crimes including,

Mischief

Break and Enter

Theft

Theft of a Motor Vehicle

Missing Person

The map allows you to see crimes that have occurred over the past 2 weeks. Being aware of trends and occurrence of crime is helpful for everyone to learn about crime in our region and take steps to prevent crime.

GRANDE PRAIRIE DISTRICT

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

APRIL 17, 2019

@

DeBolt Centre

37 Alberta Ave.

DeBolt, AB.

Doors open @ 6:00pm

Meeting @ 6:45 pm

Watch our web page for further information

&/or listen for our fan outs

Coffee & Crooked Creek doughnuts

Everyone Welcome!

Keeping your home safe from
break‐ins during the Christmas season:
• Keep any ladders used for putting lights up away from the home so
criminals cannot use them to climb up to your windows
• Do not display gifts in a window or doorway
• Properly dispose of gift packaging and boxes. Do not leave these outside for
all to see, as this will advertise the contents of your home to thieves. Put
inside garbage bags or take directly to recycling depots.

When sending gifts
• Do not send cash in the mail
• Communicate with your recipient to ensure they are expecting a parcel
• When sending a gift or gift card, consider using registered mail or a courier
service so parcels can be tracked and insured

Mailbox Safety

• if expecting parcels at your door, make sure to track item or be aware of when it will arrive
• check your community mailbox frequently

Making donations to canvassers
for charities.
• Ask for legitimate identification – only donate to registered charities.
• Contact the Canada Revenue Agency to see if the charity is registered at
http://www.cra‐arc.gc.ca/charities/
• If you are approached by someone suspicious, call police
• Do not feel pressure to donate right away – ask for information on how you
can donate at a later time

Parking Safety over Christmas:

Park in well‐lit, traveled areas

• Keep valuables and gifts out of site in the trunk, and do not to leave them in
the vehicle for long periods of time
• Don’t leave your keys in the car while it is running
• Use a steering‐wheel lock and/or car alarm to make your vehicle less
attractive to thieves

Battery theft is a problem in our area.

Here are three effective and simple ways to decrease the likelihood of battery theft:

1. Location. Batteries that are not accessible are much more difficult to steal. Often thieves will move on to easier targets if stealing yours presents too much of a challenge. Always park inside when it is an option, but if not see the next suggestion…
2. Visibility. A thief will be drawn towards a target that is hidden from traffic or the view of dwellings, as well as a target that is not well-lit. Ensure your vehicle is parked in a well-lit area and also in location where you can see it (also your neighbors line-of-site as well, the more eyes the better).
3. Join your local Crime Watch or Neighborhood Watch program…people who are connected to and know their neighbors are often able to stop suspicious activity from escalating to crime, and when crime does happen, areas with an active neighborhood are much more likely to catch offenders after the fact (and recover stolen property).

Three additional things:

• GPCrime Watch sells Trace Pens…a special marker that puts an nearly undetectable identifying chip on property. Please contact us for more information.
• ALWAYS REPORT EVERY CRIME, INCLUDING EVERY THEFT, NO MATTER HOW UNIMPORTANT IT SEEMS. When crime goes unreported, police are not able to observe patterns or allocate their resources to where they are needed effectively.
• There has been incidences of people had their battery stolen….more than once. The culprit steals a battery and then knowing the owner likely replaced the battery with a new one (and therefore thinking it would be a one-time event) returns again within a couple of weeks and steals the new battery.