Crime Prevention Tips

It’s spring in Montana and with the warmer weather the Thompson Falls Police Department usually sees an increase in property crimes.

Here’s a list of crime prevention tips to help deter these crimes:

Lock all doors to your home, even if you are home.

Lock all outbuildings where any valuables are kept (sheds etc.).

Don’t leave garage doors open, day or night.

Don’t leave keys in your vehicle (the majority of vehicles stolen had keys in them).

Lock your vehicle every time (the majority of theft from vehicle, was unlocked).

Don’t keep valuable items in your vehicle, especially not in plain sight.

Store all bicycles, tools and toys in a locked shed or garage for the night.

Don’t keep valuable tools in the bed of your pickup (chainsaws, etc.)

Make sure your front and back yards are well lit at night (don’t neglect the back yard).

Install motion lights and security cameras if possible (box stores have relatively inexpensive systems).

Have lamps on timers when you are gone.

Keep shrubs and bushes trimmed and well kept, eliminate hiding spots.

Keep trees limbed up approximately 6 feet from the ground.

Consider taking down privacy fences if they are not needed or not used for security (especially the old ones that are falling down anyway).

Know your neighbors. Get their phone number so you can call them if you see something that looks out of place at their residence. We are all in this together!

Report suspicious activity to law enforcement.

Request extra patrols if you are going to be gone for an extended amount of time (vacations, etc.).

Ultimately, we don’t want to make it easy for criminals to carry out their crimes in our community. If everybody in our community followed the tips above, it would make it much harder for criminals to commit crimes such as burglary, theft and criminal mischief and to slip through our community undetected, especially at night. In addition, some of these tips may increase property value and combat community decay.

In Montana, we have a 1 in 39 chance of becoming a victim of a property crime.