Resources available for local crime watch

In continuing with efforts of the Thompson Falls Police Department to get the community more active in crime prevention, the department hosted its third neighborhood watch meeting on Monday. The meeting was led by officer Roy Scott, who introduced guest Jennifer McPherson, a Western Montana Mental Health Center prevention specialist for Lincoln and Sanders counties, as well as the vice chairperson for the Sanders County DUI Task Force. During the meeting, McPherson spoke about funds she has allocated for programs such as the neighborhood watch.

According to McPherson, these funds can be used to purchase crime watch handbooks, stickers, signs and more. McPherson said that all the group must do is decide what supplies they need at their meetings. With meetings currently scheduled every other month, McPherson mentioned that she can probably get the items ordered and delivered by the next meeting. McPherson also mentioned purchasing binders for the group to hand out to members. She suggested having a binder for each point person in every participating community as well as a binder for every individual participant. The binders would be for participants to use for any incident reports or notes on suspicious activity.

Another issue brought up at the meeting was the need for a consistent watch sign to be placed around the community. Concern was raised that the signs would need to be easily recognizable. According to McPherson, the signs should be "bright with good visibility and will show that the community has an active community watch." The group went over a few sign options and will reach out to McPherson when a decision is made. The city of Thompson Falls currently has two signs, one at each end of town. Those signs, however, are nearly 20 years old, faded beyond recognition and, according to Scott, most people are unaware of their existence. The group plans to replace these two signs as well. Once the designs and sizes are decided, the group will bring that information to the city council for approval.

During the meeting, Scott and TFPD Chief Chris Nichols gave a short presentation about the dangers of fraud. Some of the tips given included, "know who you are talking to and make sure they are legitimate," said Scott. Nichols added that people should not give out personal information. "Companies should already have it if they need it, especially your Social Security number." Nichols also advised that a person receiving what they think may be a fraudulent call should simply hang up and avoid speaking. He said sometimes nefarious callers are looking to record vocal answers given by the individual to use in accessing account information. Scott and Nichols included that if one has previously purchased from a company, that company will already have your information and will not seek it over the phone. Nichols concluded that often a good way to rout a fraudulent caller is to ask for a number to call them back, after the person verifies the integrity of the caller through the police. Nichols said that often this number, if they indeed give one, will not work.

Nichols then touched on email fraud and gave several anecdotes. The officers mentioned that sometimes the email address can be slightly altered from an official email address, and those changes can be subtle and easily missed unless one is looking for the discrepancies.

The next meeting is slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, at the Thompson Falls Community Center. For more information on crime watch, security advice or to report suspicious activity, call TFPD at 827-3557.