Ensuring the safety of our children as they travel to school is one of the highest priorities of the Atascadero Police Department. The Police Department dedicates a considerable portion of its resources toward that goal with extra patrols in the school areas, educational efforts, and pro-active traffic enforcement. But our children’s safety is the responsibility of not only the Police Department but also our entire community.

Parents have a responsibility to teach their children how to cross streets safely, using marked crosswalks at intersections and watching carefully for vehicles. Warn your children against crossing in the middle of the block, from between parked vehicles, or without looking in both directions for approaching vehicles. If there are no sidewalks available, children should walk facing vehicle traffic at a reasonable distance away from the street and passing vehicles.

Read more: Back to School

The real truth is that nothing can make your home burglar proof. But you are certainly not completely helpless to make your home dramatically less vulnerable to a burglar by following a few simple suggestions:

• When you leave your home even for a short period of time, lock your doors and windows. It is surprising how many people do not use even the most basic burglary prevention tools- locks on doors and windows.
• Inspect your door locks for the level of security they provide. “Double key” deadbolt door locks offer greater security because you need to use a key to open the lock from the outside and the inside of the door. If a burglar enters your home through a door or window he can leave your home simply by turning a door knob or handle on the inside of a door unless the door is secured with a “double key” door lock. In that case the burglar must use a key or break the lock. If you want to be able to quickly leave your residence in the event of an emergency, leave a key in the inside “double key” deadbolt lock while you are inside your home, but be certain to remove the key when you leave your home.

Read more: Burglary Prevention

No community, ethnic group, or socio-economic group in our nation is immune to the destructive influence of gangs. Gangs and the gang lifestyle are in constant competition with parents and family for the attention and affection of our children. But as a responsible parent you can have a positive impact on your child and win the battle against gangs.

Being a responsible parent has never been easy. It is a task made even harder trying to balance the demands of working one or even two jobs to support a family with the needs of your family and children. However, if you do not learn to become a responsible parent you will lose the battle with gangs and you will lose your children.Generations of children will continue to be lost to the destruction caused by gangs.

Read more: Gangs

Robbery is a crime against the person and is a very frightening experience. By definition, “robbery” is the unlawful taking of property from someone by the use of force or the threat of violence. It can result in injury or even death to the victim.

Theft of property should not be confused with robbery. For example, shoplifting is not considered robbery. It is normally not an emergency situation that could endanger innocent citizens or officers. When reporting a crime, it is important that the correct type of crime be specified.

It is important to remember, in protecting your business from robbery, to take preventive measures and make it obvious that those measures have been taken. Every measure may or may not be applicable to every business; however, there are certain basic preventive measures that normally apply to all situations involving the handling of cash.

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CRIME PREVENTION WEB SITES

Almost one in four people over the age of 16 in the United States and Canada now use the Internet, according to a study released by Nielsen Media Research and CommerceNet in 1997. And that's more than twice the number of people who were on line in fall 1995. The survey also found that people who use the Internet are becoming more representative of the population as a whole, as compared to the homogeneous group of young, upscale, and well-educated individuals who surfed the net in its early days.

Here is a resource list of Web sites that offer interesting and useful information for crime prevention initiatives.

Read more: Websites

Internet Fraud

Listed below are tips to protect yourself and your family from various forms of Internet fraud.

For information on the most common complaints and scams, see the annual reports of the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, a partnership of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Also see its information on Internet Crime Schemes and its Internet Crime Prevention Tips.

Use our online tips form or the IC3 website to report potential cases of cyber fraud.

Tips for Avoiding Internet Auction Fraud:

• Understand as much as possible about how the auction works, what your obligations are as a buyer, and what the seller's obligations are before you bid.
• Find out what actions the website/company takes if a problem occurs and consider insuring the transaction and shipment.
• Learn as much as possible about the seller, especially if the only information you have is an e-mail address. If it is a business, check the Better Business Bureau where the seller/business is located.

Read more: Internet and E-mail Scams

Financial exploitation of senior citizens includes many issues. It may occur when a durable power of attorney document or joint bank account ownership is misused. Financial exploitation also may occur when guardians or conservators misuse their authority over wards and their estates. Further, financial exploitation may occur when fraud or undue influence is used to gain control over an elder’s real and personal property and financial resources. Financial exploitation may occur when parties to a real estate transfer fail to provide reasonable consideration for the transfer. Finally, financial exploitation may occur when an elder consumer is victimized by consumer scams, telemarketing fraud, sweepstakes fraud, predatory lending, and other scams that target elderly persons.

Read more: Elderly Fraud

Read more: Identity Theft

Missing Children

ACT IMMEDIATELY if you believe that your child is missing.

Download the Quick Reference Guide for Families in English or Spanish.

What to Do:

• If your child is missing from home, search the house checking closets, piles of laundry, in and under beds, inside large appliances, and inside vehicles, including trunks—wherever a child may crawl or hide.

• If you still cannot find your child, immediately call your local law enforcement agency.

  Read more: Missing Children