DuPage's Only Crime Stoppin Electronic Publication May 2004
Greetings!
This is Issue #4 of what we hope to be a monthly,
maybe
even a weekly, electronic newsletter publication with all
your latest Crime Stopper news, DuPage County doings,
individual city or town happenings and anything else
of interest.
Readers please feel free to forward this to other
interested parties. Police and Fire Chiefs this means
your staff; Village or City Officials this means your
employees; Civic Groups this means your members; and
Home Owner Associations this means your neighbors.
Anyone may e-mail the editor with suggestions,
articles, classifieds and opinions.
Most vandals are young people, from grade schoolers to
teens to young adults. They damage property for one
or more of the following reasons: boredom, anger,
revenge, defiance or alliance. Vandalism hurts,
people feel angry, sad, and frightened when something
of theirs, a mailbox, a garden, a car antenna is
destroyed for no reason.
Vandalism indirectly claims other victims, a child is
injured because a stop sign was stolen, a person can't
reach 9-1-1 because their telephone line was cut.
Here are some things you can do to stop vandalism.
Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a community patrol,
involve all ages, and work with law enforcement. Use
two way radios or cellular phones to patrol and report
suspicious activities to the sheriff or police. Build a
partnership with the police, focused on solving the
problem instead of reacting to crises. Make it possible
for neighbors to report suspicious activity or crimes
without fear of retaliation. Make sure
your streets and homes are well-lighted. Vandals hate
bright lights. Install outside lights and keep them on at
night. Use timers that automatically turn on outside
lights when it gets dark. Consider motion sensors that
set off lights or alarms.
This power struggle can't be won overnight, but
persistent communities working in partnership with law
enforcement almost always emerge as victors.
Be Informed Part 4
Disaster preparedness is no longer the sole concern of
earthquake-prone Californians and those who live in the
part of the country known as "Tornado Alley." For
Americans, preparedness must now account for man-
made disasters as well as natural ones. Knowing what
to do during an emergency is an important part of being
prepared and may make all the difference when
seconds count. The following five areas will be covered
in
this or upcoming issues: Biological Threats, Chemical
Threat, Explosion, Nuclear Blast and Radiation Threat.
Part 4 of 5 - Nuclear Blast.
A nuclear blast is an explosion with intense light and
heat, a damaging pressure wave and widespread
radioactive material that can contaminate the air,
water and ground surfaces for miles around.
During a nuclear incident, it is important to avoid
radioactive material, if possible. While experts may
predict at this time that a nuclear attack is less likely
than other types, terrorism by its nature is
unpredictable. If there is a nuclear blast and if there is
advanced warning of an attack:
take cover immediately, as far below ground as
possible, any shield or shelter will help protect you from
the immediate effects of the blast and the pressure
wave.
If there is no warning:
quickly assess the situation. Consider if you can get
out of the area or if it would be better to go inside a
building to limit the amount of radioactive material you
are exposed to. If you take shelter, go as far below
ground as possible, close windows and doors, turn off
air conditioners, heaters or other ventilation systems.
Stay where you are, watch TV, listen to the radio, or
check the Internet for official news as it becomes
available.
To limit the amount of radiation you are exposed to,
think about shielding, distance and time.
shielding: if you have a thick shield between yourself
and the radioactive materials more of the radiation will
be deflected, and you will be exposed to less.
distance: the farther away you are away from the
blast and the fallout the lower your exposure.
Lastly, time: minimizing time spent exposed will also
reduce your risk and always use available information to
assess the situation.
Dumb Criminal Acts
A young man held up a liquor store, and after he got
the money he demanded the clerk to give him a bottle
of liquor. The clerk refused because he didn't think the
robber was of legal drinking age, so the robber gets
mad and shows the clerk his ID to prove he was in fact
over 21. To make a long story short the clerk gave the
police all of the information from the robbers driver's
license. The police arrested the robber at his home
shortly thereafter.
Why Put Crime Stoppers In The Schools:
The following are some excerpts from nationally read
newspapers.
#1 ... Pasadena Independent School District Crime
Stoppers program gives police information on students
bringing drugs on school grounds...
On Friday, a Scholastic Crime Stoppers tip led district
police to a student who was selling drugs on campus.
District police found a 17-year-old student with 13
Xanax pills. The student has been charged with
possession of a controlled substance with intent to
deliver on school grounds.
#2 ... The La Crosse, WI. Scholastic Crime Stopper
program has been in
place since the year 2000.
To date, the program has received 112 calls from
students, which have led to the recovery of alcohol,
drugs or weapons in 51 instances. A total of $2,550 in
rewards have been paid out to students. In 2003, the
Scholastic Crime Stoppers program took in 15 calls, and
eight people were paid rewards. Although the numbers
are down from years past, that does not mean the
program is no longer working. The students are aware
of the presence of the program and that is serving as a
deterrent.
For information on how to start a Crime Stopper
program in your school e-mail dupagecrime@aol.com.
Crime Stoppers Propose Electronically Linking Law Enforcement
In order to help combat crime, drugs, gangs and
violence Crime Stoppers has proposed to DuPage
County Police Chiefs, that all the DuPage County Law
Enforcement Agencies be linked using tip management
software.
The tip management software will allow Crime Stoppers
to securely transfer and receive encrypted tip
information between our call center and the other
DuPage County Law Enforcement Agencies.
See Something - Hear Something - Say Something, if it
makes you wonder call the Crime Stopper number 1-
800-424-9119.