Crime Prevention

Garage Burglaries | Vehicle Burglaries | Construction Site Burglaries | Vandalism | Crime Prevention | Theft | Identity Theft

“Waste Watch” (2/3/06)
Waste Management, the City's garbage service provider, has implemented a new program called “Waste Watch.” All garbage truck drivers are trained by Waste Management to watch for and report suspicious activities within the cities they service. We appreciate having alert drivers who will assist us in keeping our City safe.

Police Warn of Garage Burglaries (1/5/06)
With the beginning of a new year, we encourage all citizens to secure their properties from would-be burglars. There have been an increased number of garage burglaries, occurring county-wide, with incidents even occurring in Cedar Hills. Please take some simple steps to help ensure you are not a victim:

CLOSE GARAGE DOORS
Make sure garage doors are closed and locked both day and night, including all man doors. Burglars are opportunistic; if your doors are locked, they will move on.

WRITE DOWN SERIAL NUMBERS
You can protect your property further by writing down the make, model, and serial numbers of your valuables. When the police recover stolen property, they use this information to return it to the owners. Without this information, your chances of getting your property back decrease dramatically.

BE AWARE
Know what is going on in your neighborhood, and don't be afraid to report suspicious persons and to write down license plate numbers.

Garage and Vehicle Burglaries (10/5/05)
Recently, there have been a string of garage and vehicle burglaries. The burglaries are taking place during the day while homeowners are at home. Access is being made through unlocked exterior doors or open garage doors. As a police department, we ask that homeowners actively participate in prevention. Please take every precaution and ensure that garage doors are closed and locked when the garage is not in use. Likewise, take care to lock any other entrances to your garage. If your vehicles are parked on the street, be sure the doors are locked and any valuables are kept out of sight.

Traffic Speed Trailer
The City has purchased a traffic speed trailer. We are actively conducting traffic surveys throughout Cedar Hills. If you have an interest in having the traffic trailer in your area or neighborhood, please contact the City office.

Construction Site Burglaries (5/1/05)
There have been a growing trend of construction site burglaries in our area. We have had several incidents where plumbing in residences has either been damaged or removed. We have also had several reports of construction material thefts at construction sites. These burglaries seem to be happening during the weekends when most job sites are left unattended. We ask residents to report any suspicious vehicles or people on construction sites after normal working hours or on weekends. If possible, a license plate number from those vehicles would greatly assist the police in resolving these crimes.

Vandalism to City Property (5/1/05)
The police ask for residents to pay attention to City property. This is the time of year when an increase in property damage to park restrooms and equipment is reported. Please notify the police of any suspicious activity resulting in property damage.

Cedar hills is a great place to live and work. Let’s work together to keep it that way.

The Ten Commandments of Crime Prevention
1. Install secure locks on doors and use them.
2. Leave lights on while you are away from home.
3. Adequately secure all windows.
4. Lock garage doors and windows.
5. Do not “advertise” that you will be away from home.
6. Be neighborly, but suspicious of strangers in the area.
7. Record serial numbers and maintain records of all your property.
8. Mark all property with your social security number or permanent Utah driver license number.
9. Organize your neighborhood into a Neighborhood Watch Program.
10. Call the police to report all crimes and suspicious activities.

Theft and Vandalism
The police advise homeowners to remove valuables, purses, and keys from vehicles, even when their vehicles are in the garage. Crimes of theft and vandalism are preventable if a few additional precautions are taken:

1. Do not leave your main garage door open. Our late-night patrol officers are still finding this to be very prevalent throughout the City.
2. Lock all exterior doors that access your garage.
3. Lock your vehicles at all times, including when they are parked in the garage.
4. Remove valuables such as purses and wallets from the vehicles or keep them out of sight.
   
   

Identity Theft
Identity theft is what many are calling America’s fastest growing type of robbery. However, crooks are working without the usual tools of the trade. Forget sawed-offs and ski masks; your social security number will do the trick, or that blank, pre-approved credit application you tossed out with today’s trash.

Millions of dollars were lost in the past year by financial institutions across the country. The perpetrator may use a variety of tactics to drain your finances: posing as a loan officer and ordering your credit report (which lists account numbers); “shoulder surfing” at the ATM to get your PIN number; “dumpster diving” in trash bins for unshredded credit applications, cancelled checks or bank records; or, until recently, notifying the postal service to redirect your mail to the address of choice, such as a mail drop, which allows anonymity.

It may be months before you are a victim, but when you get turned down for a mortgage on your dream house because you’ve got a bad credit rating and you know that you have paid your bills, beware: the ID thief may have struck again.

Do you carry your social security number in your wallet? That nine-digit code gives crooks access to your medical, financial, credit, and educational records. There are no legal restrictions on private-company use of social security numbers (SSNs); in fact, a data base of names with associated SSNs was recently found published on the Internet.

If you think you are safe after your wallet was lost or stolen because you canceled your credit card and put a “stop” on your checking account, think again. Once identity thieves have the information, they may open new accounts or lines of credit under your name for their own use.

Here are a few precautions that can make repairing the damage a lot easier.

1) Photocopy both sides of everything in your wallet: driver license, credit cards, etc., and keep the copies in a safe place. If your wallet is ever stolen or lost, you can easily locate the company telephone numbers to report the losses.

2) File a police report where the wallet was stolen or lost! It establishes a record to combat fraud. You will also have the credit card numbers and driver license number to provide the police, because you have a photocopy of all that information.

3) Notify your bank, the three credit reporting agencies listed below, and the Social Security Administration Fraud Line to put a fraud alert on your accounts and credit reports, which notifies these agencies that your information has been stolen and that they should notify you if anyone attempts to obtain credit in your name, using your personal information.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian: 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration Fraud line: 1-800-269-0271.

4) Periodically check your personal credit report to see if there are any entries that do not belong there.

5) Do not place bills in your mailbox for the postman to pick up.

6) Shred pre-approved credit applications, credit card receipts, bills and other financial information, and all mail or documents that contain your personal identifying information.

7) Never disclose personal information over the phone, such as your date of birth, mother’s maiden name, credit card number, social security number, or bank PIN code, except to an established firm or someone you know.

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