There will be no December General Meeting. The next General Meeting will be January 20th at 6:30 P.M. at the Police Department on Creighton Avenue. Please remember to call one of the CCW officers if the weather happens to be inclement on the 20th. I hope you will start the New Year out by attending the meeting.

YEAR END CRIMES -

The crime statistic listings in the Sunday December 7th Journal-Gazette were filled with burglaries in almost all of the neighborhoods all over the city. The media has repeated and repeated about how our present economy is in such a dire situation so I don’t need to say anything more that issue than to stress that our economy has a direct bearing on many types of crimes, burglary just being one of them. I have watched Concerned Citizen Watch members leading in so many important community functions as neighborhood presidents, officers in area partnerships, and other volunteer roles throughout the city like the "Great American Cleanup". They work hard keeping their neighbors informed on important issues pertaining to their respective neighborhoods and help to guide their neighbors into beneficial neighborhood projects. I would like to see them work even harder in stressing the importance of consistently practicing crime prevention to neighbors, friends, and relatives. Neighborhood Watch groups do not have to be elaborate and all-inclusive to be beneficial in reducing crime within your neighborhood. Two neighbors watching out for each other may not help the whole neighborhood but it will definitely help the two neighbors involved. Now might be the time to take a look outside at YOUR property and your neighbors’ properties to evaluate what you see that might give a burglar an invitation or an opportunity to commit his crime. You will need to think like a burglar and see situations as they might see them, like an open garage door or packages under the Christmas tree that are visible from a front window. Be aware, and make others aware also, that autos left unlocked or being broken into gives thieves more than a piece of electronic equipment, a recently purchased gift, or an article of clothing left behind that can be stolen from the car. Most of us carry license and insurance papers that provide much personal information about the driver/owner of the auto like the home address. The thief may interpret a expensive car as coming from a nice house with other expensive possessions around. Many drivers leave the garage door remote in the car where it is accessible by the criminal. It requires very little effort on the part of the criminal to gather personal information this way grab the remote and check your house out before you get out of the store. He may use any information acquired at a later date "when he happens to be in your neighborhood". I personally feel that the thief starts with breaking into cars because it is usually easier and they are less likely to be caught. When you think about it, anyone can walk up to a car and try the door (or even break a window in the 15 seconds it takes) and most observers would not see it as a criminal act. As the thief becomes more proficient (or more desperate in some cases), he probably will move up to breaking into houses. With a house, a neighbor seeing someone strange prowling around your house would take notice of the individual and watch to see what is happening. Hopefully, the neighbor will call the police if the actions are suspicious rather than wait until you come back home so he can tell you what happened. Now is the time to start a "neighborhood watch" with at least one of your neighbors. You may be surprised at how beneficially contagious it can be when other neighbors see how well it is working. It takes cooperation and keeping your neighbor informed of when you will be gone and how long.