Sheriff’s Department has holiday crime prevention tips

Posted at 5:33 pm December 22, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has offered holiday crime prevention tips.

“The busy holiday season is…upon us and many people can become victims of burglary, theft, and other crime,” a press release said. “Protecting yourself and your home from crime is the easiest way to have a safe, happy holiday season.”

To help ensure everyone has safe and fun holidays, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department would like to offer the following tips for holiday crime prevention.

Shopping:

Park in lighted areas at night.
Always lock your car.
Don’t try to cover items on your seats. Put shopping bags in your trunk or take your packages straight home after shopping and then go back out.
Don’t carry large amounts of cash with you, or else, keep it in your front pocket—not in your purse or wallet.
Be extra careful when carrying a purse—they are the prime targets of criminals in crowded shopping areas. If you must carry one, make sure it has a strap that can go over the shoulder and be held under the arm, making them more difficult for purse snatchers to grab.
Keep a record of all of your debit and credit card numbers in a safe place at home.
Beware of strangers approaching you. This is the time of year when thieves may try various methods to distract you with the intention of taking your money or belongings.

Home:

Always lock your home, garage, and outbuildings. Even if you are only going to be away for a few minutes.
When leaving home for an extended time, have a neighbor or family member watch your house and pick up your newspapers and mail.
Leave a light on when you leave your home at night or put your lights on an automatic timer.
Leave a television or radio on so your home looks and sounds occupied.
Make sure your holiday gifts are not visible through the windows and doors of your home.
Never say you are away from home on the outgoing message on your answering machine or voice mail. Simply say you are unable to answer the phone at the time.
Never post on your social networking website that you are away from home. Wait until you return and then post the details of your trip.
After the holidays, don’t advertise gifts by leaving boxes for the garbage collection. Flatten boxes and place in a sealed garbage bag.

One of the best ways to prevent crime is to have “nosy” neighbors. Be watchful of suspicious cars or people in your neighborhood. Have a neighbor watch your house, and do likewise for them.

If you see something suspicious, call the Sheriff’s Department at (865) 457-2414 if you live in the county or your call local police immediately.

One of the best crime prevention tools is a Neighborhood Watch program. For information on starting or joining a Neighborhood Watch group, contact the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Crime Prevention Officer, Deputy David Massengill, at (865) 457-6255, extension 150.

“Sheriff’s deputies will be out in force to help deter burglaries and thefts in an effort to keep our community safe,” the press release said. “Ensuring you and your family have a safe holiday season is our top priority.

“On behalf of the men and women of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.”

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.