Recently, the St. Petersburg Times printed a quote
from Kevin R. Mapes, a crook who was arrested in
Tampa for stealing a purse and loose change from a
car. “If someone is stupid enough to leave
their car unlocked,” Mapes said, “it’s OK to take
their stuff.” Unfortunately, the “burglars of
the world” obviously all feel this way. So you
can see the importance of taking simple steps to
protect yourself.
Did you know the simple act of locking your car
doors – something that takes less than 3 seconds –
can prevent crime? The number one crime we have
in our otherwise safe community is burglary –
incidents in which items are stolen from unlocked
cars, open garages, unsecured homes and yards or
other places in plain sight. As a citizen of
Citrus County, you can partner with us to reduce
crime and your risk of becoming a victim.
How? It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3.
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Lock up. Lock your car doors and keep
them locked at all times – even when your car is
sitting in the driveway. Lock your home and
keep your garage doors shut.
-
Secure it. Hide items left in your car –
or better yet, keep those items in your
trunk. Don’t leave valuables, such as bikes or
golf clubs, in plain view. Keep household
valuables in a safe place.
-
Be a good neighbor. Watch out for others
and share these simple steps with them. Let
your neighbors know if they’ve left something
valuable outside or if they’ve accidentally left
their garage door open.
In order to get the message out to the community on
the importance of locking out crime, my staff has
recently kicked off a Lock Out Crime
campaign. You may see our Lock Out Crime
messages on billboards, in newspaper ads, even on
door hangers left in your neighborhood. Please
partner with us in Locking Out Crime in Citrus County.
Take a moment to view some of our crime prevention
tips by watching the
short video clips we’ve posted
here. Also, you can view a special
crime prevention video that was featured on the
Sheriff’s
10-43 show. This video demonstrates
what we do during a residential security
survey. This survey can be performed on a home
or business and is free of charge. Please take
a few moments to watch this video to get ideas on how
to make safety improvements.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel
free to call the Sheriff’s Office at 726-4488 and
ask for crime prevention.