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Tag Archive for: Community Safety

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Neighbourhood Watch

Origins

Neighbourhood Watch originated in the US in the late 1960s as a response to the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in New York. It was estimated that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, but none of them called the police or came to her aid. This motivated a community response and the very first Neighbourhood Watch scheme was set up in New York,

 The program was inspired in part by Jane Jacobs‘ The Death and Life of Great American Cities , which argued that Americans need to keep their “eyes on the streets” and connect with each other in their neighbourhoods. National law enforcement agencies began pushing for community members to get more involved with reporting crimes at the local level by forming groups to watch over their neighbourhoods and to look out for any suspicious activity in their areas.

During the first few years of the program, neighbourhood watch functioned primarily as an intermediary between local law enforcement agencies and neighborhoods, to pass along information about burglaries and thefts in specific neighborhoods.

Goals of Neighbourhood Watch

The goals of a Neighbourhood Watch programs are to:

  1. Improve community safety generally including, e.g., fire safety.
  2. Prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance, creating and maintaining a caring community and reducing opportunities for crime by increasing crime prevention awareness.
  3. Assist the police in detecting crime by promoting effective communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity.
  4. Reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of the community.
  5. Improve police/community relations by providing effective communications through Neighbourhood Watch messaging systems to warn Coordinators of local crime trends which they can share with their members, and by members informing the police of incidents when they occur.

Making It Work

Neighbourhood Watch works best when everyone on a block knows everyone else. People tend to help people they know.

One tool I’ve seen used is a map or schematic of the street showing each house’s address and the names of the family members in them, including children. When you walk down the street, you’ll be able to greet your neighbours on a first-name basis.

Another tool that’s worked is to have an annual block party. It’s a great way to get to know your neighbours better and to establish stronger relationships with them. Because people can move on from time to time, a block party is a great way to welcome newcomers or to wish departing neighbours farewell.

When you know your neighbours, you know who belongs in your neighbourhood and who does not.

If you see a stranger nosing around a neighbour’s house or car, call the police. It may be something innocent, but you may help catch a criminal.

If you see a strange vehicle driving slowly along the street, it could be a criminal researching your block. Again, call the police.

You may hear, from the Neighbourhood Watch Facebook group, about some suspicious activity in your area. If you have security cameras installed around your house, check to see if they’ve captured something that confirms what’s happening. Share it with the police. It could help find and convict a criminal before they can do more harm.

Resources

On Facebook, you can find a Neighbourhood Watch group organized in Long Branch. It’s free to join. Once you’ve joined the group you can post to the group when you see something suspicious, and, of course, you’ll see what other members have posted.

There is also a site called Neighbourhood Protect that connects with the Toronto Police Service so you can receive and view up-to-date crime reports. You’ll need to set up a free account and set your profile to identify you live in Toronto and that you also live in Long Branch, but this can be done in less than 5 minutes.

Learn More

Here are some useful videos that can help you. All are only 10 – 15 minutes long.

Training Video – Part I

This video is about knowing what and who belongs and doesn’t belong in your neighbourhood. It also reminds us that Neighbourhood Watch is not a vigilante group. Do not confront potential criminals and put yourself at risk. Don’t be afraid to phone the police.

Training Video – Part II

This video is about two programs: CrimeStoppers and Operation Identification. It also has some tips on how you can help your neighbours avoid becoming victims.

Training Video – Part III

This describes some real-life examples of how some residents assisted the police. It also has some good tips to help prevent auto theft.

Training Video – Part IV

Learn how to make entryways more secure. You’ll learn about potential vulnerabilities in your locks that will surprise you. Lots of good suggestions about deterrents to make your house more secure.

We’ll post more articles about some of the topics covered in the videos. If you have a special topic you’d like to learn more about, please contact us at community.safety@lbna.ca

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MOTIVE + MEANS + OPPORTUNITY = CRIME

In our first LBNA Community Safety Survey, property crime emerged as the second-highest concern among Long Branch residents.

Imagine coming home at night and finding it looking like the above photo.

When you’ve been the victim of property crime, it’s also usually accompanied by a feeling of violation. Your personal space has been breached by someone. Items that have emotional value to you have been taken away or damaged by someone.

It will never be possible to eliminate the threat of property crime, but it IS possible to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of property crime.

An important step towards reducing that risk is to understand how criminals think.

Most police services – including the Toronto Police Service – train their officers on a triad of risk factors that are behind most crimes. The model consists of 3 factors: Motive, Means and Opportunity.

MOTIVE

Motive is simply the reason why a criminal perpetrates a crime.

It could be any of a number of things: to fuel a drug habit, to get money, the thrill or a personal vendetta, to name just a few.

Of the three underlying factors for crime, Motive is not something we, as homeowners or tenants, can influence, let alone control. We just have to accept that and work on the other two factors.

MEANS

Means deals with how the criminal commits his crime.

Means can include the tools needed to commit the crime, specialized knowledge or skills…..

Let’s look at two examples to better understand this.

Let’s say the means of entering a home or business is by picking the lock on the door. There are lock-picking tools burglars can acquire that enable them to manipulate the tumblers on a lock so they can open it. The burglar needs the knowledge of how to use these tools and the skill to actually open the lock quickly.

There’s probably nothing you can do to prevent the burglar from acquiring or using these tools.

For our second example, suppose the means of entering the home was by gaining access through a window on the second floor of the house. One way to access the second floor could be by using a ladder to climb up to the window. Another could be by climbing up a trellis or a railing of some kind.

This is where you, as a homeowner or tenant, can influence your risk of being victimized.

While our burglar using a ladder could bring the ladder with him (or her), it would be very obvious to someone looking out their window or passing by in a car.

It’s more likely the thief would try to use a ladder he found on your property. Or, as we suggested, he could try climbing up a trellis or railing or stand on recycling or garbage bins to be able to reach the second floor.

If you keep your ladder locked up – ideally in a locked garage or shed – it makes it much more difficult for a burglar to be able to use it.

OPPORTUNITY

The factor over which you have the most control is opportunity. But we’re going to save that for another post. Watch for it!

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Community Safety Roundtable

Our MPP, Christine Hogarth, is organizing a roundtable discussion on Community Safety on Friday, November 27th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. This will be a Zoom event, so you will need to pre-register to get an invitation and link to join the event.

November is Community Safety Month and we all have a role to play in keeping our communities safe.

Community Safety Month aims to promote awareness about a broad range of safety matters, including crime prevention, personal safety, and safe work practices and staying safe during an emergency.

Representatives from Toronto Police Service 22 Division will be panelists on this Zoom call. They have come up with numerous tips to help keep you safe! These tips cover a wide variety of topics from home security to business safety, youth safety to senior safety and much more.

To RSVP for the event, please click on the link below: https://www.christinehogarthmpp.ca/community_safety_roundtable

And watch this blog to get more safety tips and suggestions.

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Preventing Basement Flooding

Long Branch is no stranger to flooding. Part of our history is the catastrophic flooding that came from Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Seven residents of Long Branch lost their lives and many more homes were destroyed or washed into Lake Ontario.

With more modern storm sewer systems and flood control, it is much less likely that we will see residents lives at risk from storms and flooding. More likely is that flooding will rear its head in our basements, where it can be an expensive nuisance.

Many residents of Long Branch are aware of the network of underground streams in our neighbourhood and we have frequently warned developers about the potential impact on residents by taking down trees and reducing soft landscaping that soaks up storm runoff.

A recent article in the Globe and Mail suggests that the cost of a flooded basement can be as much as $43,000, and this may not be completely covered by household insurance. in some cases, insurance companies are refusing to offer flood damage coverage on household insurance policies.

What can you do?

Fortunately, preventing basement flooding is not outrageously expensive and can cost less than $250 as the Globe article suggests.

Clearing out eavestroughs helps ensure your downspouts will be able to direct runoff from your roof away from your foundation. In some cases, you can do this yourself with a ladder, a trowel and a bucket.

Installing a backflow preventer will cost more that $250 but insurance companies will often give you a reduced rate for flood damage that will help you recover the cost over time. Also the City has a program of giving rebates to homeowners who install them.

A backflow preventer is a valve installed in your sewer line that only allows flow in one direction – to the main sewer line. It is intended to help prevent sewer backups which are far more messy to deal with than water coming in through basement walls and windows.

Waterproofing your foundation usually involves excavation around the foundation, replacing damaged weeping tiles and installing a waterproof membrane around the foundation to prevent groundwater from getting through your foundation and directing runoff to the weeping tiles that direct runoff away from your foundation.

It’s not cheap to do this, but it is better than seeing furniture or other valuables get damaged by flooding.

Installing a sump pump in your basement is a way of collecting groundwater and pumping it away from your house. New homes are required to have a sump pump installed.

We hope we’ve given you some tips you can use. Please let us know how else we can help you.

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