Community                                                                               

Neighborhood Watch Notes - April   5/3/2005                           

Neighborhood Watch

Notes from April Meeting

With summer approaching, there can be more activity that we all need to be aware of and we want to share some tips to help make our neighborhood a safer place.

 One of the best deterrents of vandalism or burglaries is to keep outside lights on all night.  Since Tall Oaks is a dark neighborhood due to the small number of streetlights, kids can find our streets as a more “attractive” area. 

 It is also known that the majority of burglaries in Kildeer occur at homes that have alarms but they aren’t turned on.  Even if you are only planning to go out for a few minutes, it is wise to turn your house alarm on- You spend a lot of money to put one in, it only makes sense to get the full value from it.  The police also suggest if your alarm should go off in the middle of the night, it is best to stay in your room until the police arrive to check out the home and not to search the home yourself to determine if there was a false alarm.

 Burglars often look at newspapers to see when events such as funerals, weddings, etc take place as they can then target the homes of those attending the event.

 Another good idea is to have the police come to your house to do an “audit” and make any suggestions on how to best protect your home.  If you wish to do so, please call the Kildeer Police on their non-emergency number 847-438-6664 and ask for Sgt. Zujewski at ext. 212.

 In addition to using an alarm, etc, the Kildeer police also offer a “house watch” program for vacations.  You can call the non-emergency number and ask for your home to be placed on vacation watch.  Each officer is assigned homes on the watch list and they will check the house on each shift (walking around the whole house and checking all doors and windows).

 A neighborhood watch is successful when all of us keep an eye open for anything that is out of character and we then act on this.  If you notice a suspicious car, please note the license plate number and report it to the police.

 If solicitors come to your door they must have a village permit and are only allowed from sunrise to sunset.  The Jehovah’s witnesses are the only ones exempt from a permit (based on some legal action they won).  Anyone not having a permit can be arrested and would need to post a bond.

 Also, be aware of house maintenance scams, especially fake roof repairs following major storms.

 Another word of advice is to refrain from using your laundry dryer when away from home.  In the month of March, there were 7 house fires in McHenry caused by vents that were blocked by lint, etc.

 In light of the news from Florida over the past several months involving child kidnappings, there was a discussion on known sex offenders and the interest by some to be aware of any that are living in surrounding areas.  There is information found on the Illinois State Police  at http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/frames.htm.

This is public information.

 If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact Dave Weisz our neighborhood watch chairman who can address anything with the Kildeer Police.

Crime Watch Alert  11/18/2004                                                  

Neighborhood Watch Request  10/19/2004