GENERAL MEETING - The next General Meeting will be September 16^th at 6:30 P.M. at the Police Department on Creighton Avenue. There will be NO AUGUST GENERAL MEETING. Plans for Johnny Appleseed Festival Patrol will be finalized.

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THEFT FROM VEHICLE – If you read the crimes statistics in the Sunday August 10^th Journal-Gazette, you can see one area (Sector 15) where they had eight (8) “theft from vehicle” committed probably late Sunday evening or early Monday morning and reported before 10:00 A.M. Monday morning. The weather in the late evening and early morning hours lately has been ideal outside weather. Many of the crimes in this sector were committed at a place of business (a hotel/motel) where neighbors are not close by to observe criminal activities. We, as civilians, may not have been able to stop these crimes, but they should make us aware that this type of crime can happen when we travel and stay at hotels/motels. I know extra work is involved, but carrying ALL of your bags into your room for over night storage could keep you from becoming a victim to “theft from vehicle” when you travel. You will probably find that this crime happens the majority of times where the vehicle is left UNLOCKED or something of (supposed) value can be seen from out side the vehicle.

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IDENTITY THEFT SCAMS – A recent newspaper article was written on a telephone scam concerning credit cards in association with Three Rivers Credit Union. I know of three people, I being one of them that received a call saying our credit card had been suspended and that we were to call a number that they had given. The call was a recorded call so there was no one to immediately answer any questions we might have had. Just call this “number” was the instructions. I knew it was a SCAM so I didn’t act on the instructions, but I worry so much about the people who might have taken it seriously and called the number per their instructions. Most people would not call that number, but they would call their credit card company instead. Some would make the call and reveal their credit card number, the expiration date, and probably their name; all the ingredients needed for a telephone or online purchase. If the scam scored on one of a thousand calls, the crime would have been profitable to the criminal. The Wednesday August 6^th Journal-Gazette had an article on the Fed charging eleven (11) people with ID theft. Eleven down and how many thousands to go? I truly feel that we need to change our “mindset” on ID theft crimes and criminals and create laws that will fairly punish these criminals for the crimes they commit. The current focus seems look individually at the relative SMALL loss each of the victims sustains. Collectively, the Feds estimated the “eleven” mentioned above was responsible for BILLIONS of dollars of losses to victims and companies. A second consideration that the system seems to focus upon is the lack of physical injury sustained by the victims of these crimes. A mental injury can be as painful and permanent as a physical injury. We give long prison terms to criminals convicted of robbery, assault and battery, and many other physical offenses. Our laws should be changed to include equally lengthy sentences Internet crimes. Make your voice heard among our justice system participants.

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BURGLARIES – There have been many house burglaries recently in neighborhoods all over the city. With the housing market and other economic conditions resulting in so many vacant houses in our neighborhoods, burglars can almost have selections of their choice. The police cannot ascertain which vehicles and/or persons are authorized to be associated with these properties as they patrol our neighborhoods. If you have vacant houses (and even if they are not vacant) or houses with “For Sale” signs in front, be EXTRA vigilant and note any visitors. If ANYTHING looks suspicious, call #311 (or #911 if the party is still there).