Hamilton Police Dept.
331 South Front Street
Hamilton, OH 45011
Tel: 513.868.5811
Fax: 513.867.7317



VACATION TIPS/HOUSE WATCH PROGRAM

PERSONAL SAFETY


OPERATION IDENTIFICATION
You are helping fight crime in your own neighborhood by marking your personal property, and you are increasing chances of recovering your property should a burglary occur. This is a free service offered by the Hamilton Police Department’s Public Affairs Section. If you would like to borrow an engraver and a marking pen, please contact the Public Affairs Section at 868-5811, extension 2007 during normal business hours.

Engrave your drivers license number on each item, preferably near the manufacturer's serial number. Do not engrave on removable parts such as doors, lids, plates, etc. THE LETTERS (OH) SHOULD BE ENGRAVED BEHIND YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE NUMBER. This tells a recovering law enforcement agency to find your drivers license number in Ohio's driver's license files.

We suggest that you practice with the engraver first to get the "feel" of its action before marking property. Please return the tool within three days and pick up two warning decals for application near entryways of your home. These decals serve as deterrents to intruders and are a vitally important part of your participation in OPERATION IDENTIFICATION.

That's all there is to it: (1) Engrave your property, (2), return the tool, (3) put the decals on or near your home's doorways.

There's even more safety in numbers! Try to get your neighbors to participate in the program also. If every family in your neighborhood joins the program, you are even more likely to keep burglars away.
NATIONAL BICYCLE REGISTRY PROGRAM

Don’t let it end up at a police auction!

Since 1984, the National Bike Registry (NBR®) has been working with law enforcement to return stolen bikes to their rightful owners. A bike registered with NBR, the only true national database, can be identified by police and returned to you instead of being sold at a police auction. The Hamilton Police Department felt this is an important program to be established and implemented for our citizens. Bicycles are very costly and with this program it’s well worth the investment to protect your bicycle.

Protect your bike and your investment!

While many types of property theft have declined in recent years, bicycle theft is on the rise according to FBI statistics. The increasing popularity of bicycling as a sport and a means of transportation have made bicycles an easy target for thieves. It is estimated that over 1.5 million bicycles are stolen every year. Nowhere is bicycle theft more of a than at parks, pools, front yards, or even riding to work.

By purchasing a National Bicycle Registration packet, law enforcement can then be able to:
• Permits State and Local Government entities to use Internet technology to register bicycles.
• Ensures consumer privacy by making the unauthorized release of personal information subject to penalties.
• Guarantees that local law enforcement agencies have access to the Internet registration database(s) to enable them to return recovered bicycles to their rightful owners.
• Caps registration fees at the amount currently allowed by state law.
• Works with bicycle retailers.
• Requires, beginning January 1, 2006, that the serial number of a bicycle be clearly identified.
• Will result in more recovered bicycles to their rightful owners and help law enforcement officials.
The cost associated with this program is $10.00 for a ten-year period, which once your bicycle is registered it can be traced nationwide. Please contact the Public Affairs Section at (513) 868-5811, extension 2007 for further inquiries for this program.
PROJECT BEACON

In 2005, the Hamilton Police Department initiated Project Beacon. The program is designed for the homeowner to have the capability to alert neighbor and first responders of an emergency situation. 

Project Beacon is a program, which allows Hamilton residents to install light bulbs in exterior lighting fixtures that flash when activated. The bulbs can be installed into any existing exterior light socket. The bulb is activated when the resident flips the light switch up and down three times. This allows the bulb to flash and alerts neighbor and first responders of an emergency situation.

The Hamilton Police Department has secured the cost of these bulbs at the rate of $10.00 each instead of the higher cost of $19.95 each. The bulbs were purchased from the Police Department’s budget and any sales are deposited back into the General Fund. We sell these bulbs at cost to citizens due to the nature of this program.  

The bulbs can be installed into any existing exterior light socket. And the bulb is activated when the resident flips the light switch up and down three times. This allows the bulb to flash.  

If you are interested in this Project Beacon, please contact the Public Affairs Section at (513) 868-5811, extension 2007 for any additional questions.

HOME DOORS & LOCKS
  • Keep your doors locked at all times, even when you are at home, and remember to close and lock your windows when you leave...even if it's just to walk the dog.
  • Install new locks or have the tumblers reset when you move into a previously occupied building.
  • Install auxiliary dead bolt locks with 1" throw on all exterior doors and USE them. A second lock is often the easiest and sometimes the cheapest way of strengthening the security of an entrance door.
  • Keep the number of keys to a minimum by having all the locks keyed the same.
  • Doors with glass panes should be fitted with double-cylinder locks, requiring keys both inside and out. Keep a key near the door in a location known by all occupants so they can exit in case of fire or other emergency.
  • Sliding glass doors should lock from the inside. A strip of wood placed in the inside bottom track will prevent its opening. Commercial "locking bars" or patio door locks are also available.
  • Secure all entrances... including garage doors, basement doors and windows, sun deck and porch doors...day and night. Don't hide keys outside.
  • Keep your keys to yourself. Don't entrust them to tradesmen, maids, repairmen, etc. Separate house keys from car keys when leaving your car with parking lot attendants.
  • If someone forces open your door, leave immediately by a different door and go to a neighbor's house to call police.
  • Don't open your door to strangers. When someone is outside your door and you don't know who it is, keep the door shut, even if you have a security chain. Talk to the caller through the door or a nearby window. You may wish to install a peephole or, even better, a door-mounted viewing lens.
  • When working in the yard, garage, basement or upstairs, keep your doors locked.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM
  • Participate in your Neighborhood Watch program. Learn who lives across the street, next door, and behind you, so that you can identify irregular activity.
  • Be alert to unusual activities on your street or around neighboring households. Report to police any strangers loitering in the neighborhood or asking questions about your neighbors or their whereabouts.
  • Note the license numbers of questionable automobiles and trucks
  • Report broke streetlights to your electric power company.
  • Call police if you receive many wrong number telephone calls or calls from unknown persons seeking information.
  • Don't be reluctant or embarrassed to call the police. You may remain anonymous if you wish. Even if your call turns out to be unnecessary, the Police Department won't mind; they appreciate an alert attitude. And, of course, keep Police and Fire Department phone numbers handy at all times.

PHISHING
The act of sending e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.

For example, 2003 saw the proliferation of a phishing scam in which users received e-mails supposedly from business claiming that the user’s account was about to be suspended unless he clicked on the provided link and updated the credit card information that the genuine eBay already had. Because it is relatively simple to make a web site look like a legitimate organizations site by mimicking the HTML code, the scam counted on people being tricked into thinking they were actually being contacted by businesses and were subsequently going to business site to update their account information. By spamming large groups of people, the “phisher” counted on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with businesses legitimately.

Phishing also referred to as brand spoofing or carding, is a variation on “fishing,” the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted into biting.

The most heinous form of phishing, when victim computer's settings are modified and hijacked is called “Pharming”. In case of pharming, identity theft criminals use spy ware and Trojan viruses to redirect you to their websites when you try to access your bank's website.

THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLES
Most thefts from vehicles take place during the late night hours, however we have seen thefts from motor vehicles during the day. In these cases, valuables were left in plain sight and unknown suspect(s) broke out a window and grabbed the valuables. Many of our thefts from vehicles occur due to vehicles being left unlocked. Make yourself less vulnerable to theft by following the recommendations below.
  • Secure your vehicle by locking all doors and rolling up the windows.
  • Remove all portable stereo equipment, CD's, cellular phones, radar detectors, clothing, and other similar equipment from your vehicle. If you have a removable faceplate on after market radio system, remove the faceplate. If this is not possible, make an attempt to hide them from view.
  • Remove all personal property such as purses and wallets.
  • Do not leave personal information inside of your vehicle such as your birth certificate, vehicle title, social security card, etc. due to identity theft.
  • Do not leave packages visible in your vehicle.
  • Park in well lit areas or areas of high traffic/visibility.
  • Do not leave your vehicle running or your keys in the vehicle unattended. (You can be cited for this type of violation).
  • Report suspicious activities in parking lots to the Hamilton Police Department immediately.
  • Check your vehicle daily to ensure that it has not been damaged or broken into.
  • Mark valuables with an invisible marking pen or engraving tool, which is available at the Hamilton Police Department’s Public Affairs Section at no charge. Never mark your valuables with your social security number.
LITTER PREVENTION
Research and experience prove that litter — intentional or unintentional pollution resulting from consumer waste products being carelessly handled or improperly disposed — attracts more litter. A clean community, by contrast, discourages littering, and raises local living standards and quality of life.

Litter is the result of too little attention to how waste is handled — the careless and casual handling of waste creates litter. Knowing more about the causes of litter and where it comes from is a good place to start in addressing litter prevention. One person, one business, one organization can positively affect the behavior of others in their community.

Where do people litter?
Because Hamilton believes litter is often a starting point for other community blight, and that everyone shares a personal responsibility to help prevent litter in their community, we encourage solutions that involve public education and volunteer action. Knowing more about the causes of litter and where it comes from is a good place to start in addressing litter prevention. One person, one business, one organization can positively affect the behavior of others in their community.

Why do people litter?
People tend to litter because they feel no sense of personal ownership. In addition, even though areas such as parks and beaches are public property, people often believe that someone else a park maintenance or highway worker will take responsibility to pick up litter that has accumulated over time. Because any and all items used in human activity have a potential of being littered, the scale of this issue is significant.

Areas most likely to be littered fall into four categories: Special event venues, Roadways and highways, High traffic and everyday locations and Transition points.
  • Special Event Venues

    • Special event venues such as fairs, concerts, carnivals, and other special events attract a large number of people who will generate waste. The larger the event, the more waste it typically creates. Simple steps can help reduce event waste and litter:
    • Involve event planners and vendors in having a "waste wise/litter free" event.
    • Post signs with anti-littering messages for all attendees.
    • Plan ahead to assure that the number of waste and recycling receptacles matches the potential volume of waste.
    • Place volunteers near receptacles to guide participants to proper waste disposal.
  • Roadways and Highways

    • Roadways and highways as well as highway on/off ramps and roadway median strips have increasingly become the target of litterers. While Adopt-a-Highway/Roadway/Spot programs exist around our country, drivers and car passengers are littering these spots every day. Recent censuses report that people spent more and more hours in the car every day. People are snacking, smoking, and eating meals while traveling by car.
    • Car litterbags are needed. When these are full, they should be emptied in a trash receptacle.
    • Smokers must use a car ashtray and/or a pocket ashtray to dispose of these cigarettes, lighting material, and butts.
    • All businesses appealing to clients who drive should encourage their customers to dispose of trash properly.
    • Signage, messages on consumable products' packaging and distribution of car litterbags are needed.
    Businesses like food vendors, convenience store owners, auto dealerships, and auto rental agencies need to help their customers do the right thing, to be responsible for proper disposal of trash and waste.
  • High Traffic and Everyday Locations

    • High traffic and everyday locations are fast food businesses and delis, convenience stores, picnic grounds, park benches and other high pedestrian traffic areas. Every community has businesses selling consumable products that generate packaging waste.
    Every community has benches in parks as well as seating at bus stops and picnic areas where people will congregate. These spots need properly maintained ash/trash receptacles nearby that are easily identified. The receptacles need to be maintained and serviced regularly.
  • Transition Points

    • Transition points are the places where someone stops eating, drinking or smoking before they proceed. A transition point may be the entrance to a public building, an office, a retail establishment, a train platform or bus stop. Individuals may drop items and create litter before they move into a building, onto a bus or into the train.
    At transition points, strategically placed, highly visible receptacles will be most successful in capturing discarded papers, cans and cigarette butts. Identifying transition points in communities, equipping them with ash or trash receptacles and regularly and properly maintaining the receptacles has been proven to reduce litter and improve a community’s appearance.

    Do your part to help clean up Hamilton and take ownership in your property. With this in mind, you will prevent other crimes from occurring in your neighborhood. With trash, debris, and other dumping areas brings in other criminal activity. You do not feel safe, your property values plunge downward, and the Hamilton City Ordinances hold you responsible for cleaning this up or the possibility of court appearances and fines.

APARTMENT SECURITY
If you live in an apartment or condominium, follow the same rules about cars, keys and locks, but add these to your checklist:

  • Keep outer main doors locked. Do not press the buzzer to release the door unless you are certain who is requesting entrance.
  • Look through the peephole before opening the door.
  • Cooperate with other tenants in notifying building superintendent of suspicious looking strangers, sounds or actions in hallways.
  • Place supplemental locks on windows or doors that open onto fire escapes, terraces and balconies.

HOME WINDOW SECURITY
  • Install key-type locks on your windows, preferably with dead bolts. Some can be locked in an open position or drill a hole into wooden sash frames with the windows in a closed position, and insert a nail.
  • Consider shatterproof laminated glass or plastic as a replacement for decorative windows adjacent to entrance doors, which, if broken, make it easy to reach in and unlock the door. Glass doors can be similarly protected.
  • Don't overlook basement windows. If you never open them, nail them shut or replace with the non-opening type or with glass block. Remove the handles from basement windows.

HOME YARD SECURITY
  • Turn on outdoor lights at night to illuminate hiding places near your home. Consider installing a photoelectric sensor-type light switch.
  • Trim shrubbery near doors, windows and porches, particularly along sides and in the rear.
  • Bring ladders inside, or firmly anchor them to a garage wall. Put tools, toys, and outdoor furniture away, and chain bicycles, lawnmowers and snow blowers to a wall. Encourage your neighbors to do the same.
  • Close garage doors! Empty garages advertise that the home is unoccupied, and, if attached, allow easy entrance to the house. Electronic door openers provide additional security.
  • House numbers should be visible from the street so police can respond quickly in an emergency.


AUTOMOBILE SECURITY
A car is stolen every 32 seconds in this country. Two-thirds of the thefts occur at night, and over half are in residential neighborhoods. You can make it tougher for a would-be thief by taking some precautions that everyone knows, but may ignore.
  • Make it a habit to lock your car and pocket the key. Never leave the key in the ignition.
  • Put your car in the garage at night and lock your garage.
  • Write down your license plate number and check your plates now and then. Never leave the title or registration in the car.
  • Consider commercial anti-theft devices, which are priced from $20, particularly if you leave your car unattended all day. Police will help you evaluate the different possibilities and tell you where they may be purchased. Some recommended devices include:
    • Kill switch (car won't start unless hidden switch is activated).
    • Alarm system (loud warning sounds an alert if car if tampered with or jostled).
    • Crook lock (bar locks steering wheel to brake pedal).
    • If your vehicle is stolen despite the precautionary measures you have taken, contact the police immediately. Be able to provide them with an adequate description (make, model, color) along with the license plate number, VIN number, and any other distinguishing characteristics.

PREVENTING SENIOR TELEMARKETING FRAUD

Many legitimate companies and charities solicit consumers by telephone and consider it an effective way to raise money or increase company business.  Unfortunately, others are simply up to no good.  We, at the Hamilton Police Department believe seniors can prevent telemarketing fraud by being educated consumers. 

Studies have shown that senior citizens are more at risk to be targeted by telemarketing scams than other age groups, and fraudulent telemarketers direct anywhere from 56 to 80 percent of their calls at older Americans.  These con artists believe that senior citizens are vulnerable and more susceptible to their tricks.  However, Hamilton Police Department is helping many seniors to be shrewd and savvy citizens by keeping these tips in mind: 

  • Offers too good to be true usually are.  Ask to receive the “unbelievable deal” or the “amazing prize offer” in writing so you can read it carefully before making a commitment.
  • Never give out your personal information over the phone or Internet unless you have initiated the contact. Legitimate business callers will never ask you for this information over the phone.
  • If a caller asks you to pay for an offer in advance or asks for your credit card number or Social Security number, tell the person you don’t give out personal information over the telephone. Offers too good to be true usually are.  Ask to receive the “unbelievable deal” or the “amazing prize offer” in writing so you can read it carefully before making a commitment.

Remember that legitimate telemarketers won’t be turned off if you use these techniques.  They will appreciate dealing with an educated consumer. It’s not rude – it’s shrewd!

If you have any questions concerning a telemarketing organization, please call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section at 1-800-282-0515.


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City Of Hamilton . 345 High Street . Hamilton, OH 45011 . (513) 785-7000