Even if you live in a neighborhood with low crime stats, that doesn’t guarantee you’re safe. While most criminals strike far afield of where they live, it’s still a good idea to know as much about your neighbors as possible. Apart from a social standpoint, there are safety issues that depend on knowing your immediate surroundings as well as possible. This includes the people who live next door, across the road and down the street.
Nobody wants to feel like the neighborhood busy body, but there are other ways that you can find out what you need to know. First, the friendly approach.
Meet Your Neighbors
Knock on doors and briefly introduce yourself. If you can get contact information, invite everyone over for a barbecue or cocktails – cocktails get people in and out of the house faster than dinner and let you mingle more.
If there is a Neighborhood Watch join it or start one if you can devote the time to it. Their website has lots of great information on starting a unit in your neighborhood.
Invite Law Enforcement into Your Community
Once you meet the people you live beside, invite law enforcement to help you address any security or safety issues. This can be a revealing meeting for you. You can find out what crimes have been committed and how confident your neighbors feel in their safety.
On a practical level, law enforcement agents are usually more than happy to provide guidance and tips to make the neighborhood safer.
Find Out Where the Video Surveillance Cameras
Surveillance cameras can catch burglars and lead to an arrest. Combine with electronic alerts, they can help police catch burglars while they’re still on the premises. The can also be useful for petty thefts, burglaries and hit and runs. Police might be able to use this information to find the perpetrators if you or a neighbor are ever robbed.
Background Checks
If you want to know more about your neighbors, it might be worthwhile to get a background check to see if they have criminal records or a police record. If anything happens and you suspect a neighbor of illegal actions, you might be able to help police solve the crime.
Background checks are more accurate if you can get the name, an address, phone number and email address of the neighbors you wish to look up. This information helps you get a report that has evaluated millions of police and arrest records to find the relevant data. Hopefully, everything comes back negative and you can rest a little easier.
