Be aware. Stay alert. Remain calm and confident. Disabled people face many physical challenges. This makes them vulnerable to would-be assailants who assume the disabled are incapable of protecting themselves. The following recommendations may help a person with a physical disability from becoming the victim of a crime.
Look out for yourself.

* Be cautious and aware of your surroundings, whether on the street, in an office building or the shopping mall.

* Stay alert when driving or waiting for a bus or train.

* Send the message that you are calm, confident and know where you are going.

* Be realistic about your limitations. Avoid places or situations that put you at risk.

* Know the neighborhoods where you live and work. Check out the locations of police and fire stations, public telephones, hospitals and restaurants or stores that are open and accessible.

* Avoid establishing predictable activity patterns. Vary your daily routines. By never altering your schedule, you increase your vulnerability to crime.

At home.

* Install approved locks on all your doors. Sturdy deadbolt locks are best. Make sure you can easily use the locks you install.

* Install peepholes on front and back doors at your eye level. This is especially important if you use a wheelchair.

* Get to know your neighbors. Watchful neighbors, who look out for you as well as themselves, are a frontline defense against crime.

* If you have difficulty speaking, have a friend record a message (giving your name, address and type of disability) to use in emergencies. Keep the tape in a recorder next to your phone.

* Ask your police department to conduct a free home security survey to help identify your individual needs.

Before you go on vacation.

* Plan ahead. If you are traveling by car, get maps and plan your route.

* Have the car checked by your mechanic or a knowledgeable friend before you leave.

* Leave the numbers of your passport, driver’s license, credit cards and travelers’ checks with a trusted adult.

* Put lights and a radio on timers to create the illusion that someone is at home while you are away.

* Leave shades, blinds and curtains in normal positions.

* Stop mail and deliveries or ask a neighbor to collect them.

Out and about.

* If possible, go with a friend.

* Stick to well-lit, well-traveled streets.

* Avoid shortcuts through vacant lots, wooded areas, parking lots or alleys.

* Let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.

* Carry a purse close to your body, not dangling by the straps. Put a wallet in an inside coat or front pants pocket.

* If you use a wheelchair and carry a purse, secure it to your wheelchair and tuck it snugly between you and the inside of your chair.

On public transportation.

* Use well-lit, busy stops. Stay near other passengers. Sit by the driver.

* Stay alert. Do not doze or daydream!

* If someone harasses you, make a loud noise or say, “Leave me alone.” If that does not work, hit the emergency signal on the bus or train.

Parents often have questions about Child Passenger Safety, because they do not know how to properly secure their children in a motor vehicle. When coming from friends and coworkers, this information can sometimes be confusing, and often conflicting. Here are some standard guidelines and facts about Child Passenger Safety:

Every child should be restrained in a child safety seat, booster seat, or with a lap and shoulder belt appropriate for their age and body size, in the back seat whenever possible.

Children in rear-facing child seats should never be placed in the front seat of vehicles equipped with passenger air bags. The impact of a deploying air bag striking a rear-facing child seat could result in severe injury and death.

NEVER carry an infant or child in your arms if the vehicle is moving.

NEVER allow a child to place a seat belt behind his back or under his arm.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “4 Steps for Kids” guidelines explain which restraint should be used for each stage of a child’s development. The four steps are:

1 Infants should be in a rear-facing safety seat installed in the back seat (center seat preferably) from birth to at least one year old and at least 20 pounds. In a safety seat that accommodates higher rear facing weights, the infant should remain rear-facing until reaching the maximum weight for the safety seat.

2 Forward-facing toddler seats installed in the back seat from age one to about age four and 20 to 40 pounds.

3 Booster seats in the back seat from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age 8, unless 4 feet, 9 inches tall.

4 Safety belts should be used at age eight or older or if the child is taller than 4 feet 9 inches. All children 12 and under should ride in the back seat.

A booster seat should be used when the child has outgrown a convertible safety seat, but is too small to fit properly in a vehicle safety belt. A booster seat raises a child up so that the safety belt fits properly. Avoid using after market products such as shoulder belt positioning devices, infant head-positioning pads and head rests, seat saver rubber and plastic mats, toys that attach to child restraints, safety belt buckle covers, and safety belt locking devices since there are no federal standards for testing or regulating such products.

Do not place the child in the seat with a lot of padding or with a thick snowsuit; in a crash, the child can slip right out of the extra padding, and thus out of the seat.

Only buy a child safety seat with a certification label that shows that it meets or exceeds Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213.9

Call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Auto Safety Hotline (1-800-424-9393) to see if any recalls or safety notices have been issued on your child safety seat.

If you have a crime prevention question or any general question you would like to ask about your Plantation Police Department, I will be glad to answer it for you. Just e-mail me, Officer Bob Wilkins, at bw9630@yahoo.com.

Register your land-line and cell phone with the National “Do Not Call” database by calling 888-382-1222. Don’t pay for a “free” gift. Never give out your Social Security number, credit card numbers or bank account numbers to an organization you don’t know. Document your transactions and keep your envelopes – they are proof that the mail was used fraudulently.

Source: Officer Bob Wilkins, Community Relations/Crime Prevention Practitioner, Plantation Police Department

It’s not always easy to spot con artists. They’re smart, extremely persuasive and aggressive. They invade your home by telephone and mail, advertise in well-known newspapers and magazines, and come to your door. Most people think they’re too smart to fall for a scam. But con artists rob all kinds of people – from investment counselors and doctors to teenagers and elderly widows – of billions of dollars every year. Just remember . . . if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You can protect yourself.

Being caught in the act is a thief’s greatest risk, the second being caught “red-handed” with the the property they have stolen.

With modern mass-produced appliances, electronics and products looking identical, the police have no way of identifying recovered property as stolen goods unless the serial number is available or the item has been marked with a property owner’s unique number.

Every year, law enforcement agencies across the country auction millions of dollars worth of recovered lost or stolen property because of lack of identification. If an item has been marked, however, the information can be entered into state and national law enforcement computer networks to trace these goods in any matter of seconds and the owner can be identified.

This knowledge alone may act as a major deterrent to a potential thief since items that can be traced back to their original owner’s bring a lower price on the street.

Here are a few tips to help protect your property and assist law enforcement in the recovery if items are stolen.

• We recommended that you mark your property with a number that is easily obtained by the property owner, be permanently traceable back to the property owner and should be acceptable for entry into the FBI‘s National Crime Information Center computer system for stolen property. We recommend the use of the Floridadriver’s license number of the property owner with the two letter abbreviation for the state listed either before or after this number.
• All items that might be attractive to a thief should be marked.
• The property should be marked in a prominent place where the marking will be both readily visible and difficult to cover or remove without the attempt being obvious.
• Electronic equipment such as flat screen televisions, gaming systems, computers, and cellular phones can be prominently marked on the back of the chassis or case and even under the battery cover.
• Engines and body parts of power driven equipment such as generators, mowers and trimmers are sometimes exchanged to reduce the risk of identification. Mark both the engine and frame.
• Clothing and furs can be marked with invisible or indelible ink, or the number can be embroidered on the material.
• An additional marking should be made in an inconspicuous area on the property.
• Property that cannot be engraved, such as antiques, jewelry, coins, silver, china, etc. should be photographed and logged on an inventory sheet in detail.

Will Operation Identification really deter a thief?

Some people have questioned the effectiveness of marking valuable property. Others believe that if a thief knows the property in a home is clearly marked the thief is unlikely to select that home as a target. Further, it is believed that marked property has a reduced resale value to the “fence” making that property less attractive, which is another very valuable benefit of the marking and recording of property descriptions and serial numbers other than for insurance purposes.

This information is very vital in order to enter the stolen item into the NCIC computer system and to aid identification in case of recovery. Finally another beneficial advantage of marking your property is that it sensitizes you to participate in other good security practices and measures. The individual who participates in this program will usually be the same person who practices other good crime prevention habits such as being careful with keys, locking doors and windows, securing property, etc.