39 Beat Crime Trends
Burglary
You may have seen in the newspaper and on the nightly news that burglaries in Wichita are up! This rise has occurred because criminals are taking advantage of your comfortableness. Your open garage doors are the opportunity these people need to steal from you. These burglaries are preventable. Criminals are taking items from vehicles inside garages and in a lot of these cases they are taking vehicles. Please leave all doors locked, including entry doors to your garages, and never leave your garage doors open.
Another way criminals are accessing your homes are using garage door openers from vehicles left outside garages. Do not leave garage door openers inside vehicles parked outside garages! Criminals see this as an easily access to your garage using the remote.
Take 5 minutes to test yourself on how safe your personal items are in your car or open garage. Do no preparation. Leave everything as it is and ask a friend or relative to play the part of ‘thief’. While you are inside give him or her 2 minutes to see what they could walk away with. What did they get? Garage door opener to come back later? Expensive GPS unit? Purse? House keys? Lawn mower?
Thefts From Construction Sites
Do you have new construction in your area? Increases in cost of construction materials, copper in particular, have attracted thieves. They steal building materials and then sell to salvage yards. If you live near a home that is under construction, do not assume that late night visitors to the site are legitimate contractors. Call 911 and let officers verify that they are supposed to be there.
Make a good witness. Get car descriptions, tag numbers, suspect descriptions and direction of travel. You are our eyes and ears and together we can solve crimes.
Theft From Automobiles
Crime prevention is about the things you can do to decrease your chances of becoming a victim. Consider everything you leave in your car and its value. Is it in plain sight? Criminals do look in your car. Criminals do weigh the risks of breaking into one car over another. If his choice is a car with a purse or a car with nothing in plain sight, he’ll take the purse. Remember, lock your doors, roll up your windows, never leave valuables in plain view, and never leave purses, bags, or backpacks in vehicles no matter how safe you think the area is.
Business Burglaries
Business owners. Please contact Officer Tennyson in Community Affairs at 268-4101. She will send you information on how to get a Business Watch started in your area. Promote safety and become involved with being a vigilant deterrent for all the businesses in your business community. All it requires is communication and watching out for your neighbor.
General Crime Prevention Tips
- Get to know your neighbors -
- Form a Neighborhood Association/Neighborhood Watch -
- Be involved in your Neighborhood Association/Neighborhood Watch -
- These are your neighborhoods, don’t let criminals take over -
- Keep a record of all serial numbers -
- If something looks suspicious to you, it is. Call 911 -
Prevention Tips from the WPD Community Affairs Section
With warmer weather approaching, more people will be outside walking, working in the yard, or just enjoying the warmer weather. This month, the Wichita Police Department Crime Prevention Section would like to offer these personal safety tips in an effort to make you and the community safer.
Walkers/Joggers
Avoid jogging or walking alone. Avoid unlit streets, vacant lots, and unpopulated areas. Stick to well-traveled areas like malls and businesses in your area. Refrain from wearing headphones, which prevent you from hearing what is happening around you. Be assertive and know where you are going. Never be friendly when out walking or jogging. Don’t give out directions. If you think someone is following you, change directions and get to a safe place. Always have your keys ready when returning home. When arriving home, have a friend wait until you are inside before leaving.
Assertiveness
Assertive behavior will help reduce your vulnerability to an assault. Make eye contact with people you meet. Eye contact is a powerful way to say “I am in control of myself and my environment. Do not violate my space.” No one will listen to you or take you seriously if you speak softly. Speak clearly and with authority. Say “NO” rather than “Well, I don’t know.” Speak up. Strong body language also sends the same assertive message as eye contact. Walk with a sense of purpose like you know exactly where you are going and what you are doing. Pay attention to your instincts. Do not discredit them by thinking that you are just paranoid. If you feel someone can’t be trusted or you are in danger, you probably have a good reason. Listen to your instincts and trust them.
In Conclusion
Be aware of your surroundings. Avoid dangerous situations. Think about your options in advance should you encounter an attacker. Value yourself and your feelings as much as you value others. The most important step you can take in protecting yourself is to acknowledge that it can happen to you. The following principles should be useful in helping you reduce your degree of vulnerability:
Be alert
Be aware of the people around you, your surroundings, and the total environment
Be assertive, do not allow yourself to be intimidated
Stay calm
Think clearly
Community Affairs Section Also Offers:
Home and Business security surveys
Operation Identification (engraver loan-out)
National Night Out information
Neighborhood Watch
Business Watch
Camp Awareness
For details on these programs, call the WPD Community Affairs section
268-4101
General Information
Home Owner Associations
I am available to attend your HOA meetings and bring any information you need addressed. Please feel free to email o call me.
Officer Matt Lowe
mlowe@wichita.gov
688-9500
Special April Announcement
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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month!
It’s time to STOP Sexual Violence!
Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center
invites the public to attend its
22nd Annual "Take Back the Night"
Activities include:
Very Special Guest Speakers
Stephen N. Six
Attorney General for the state of Kansas
Sandy Barnett
Executive Director of Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
Dorthy Stucky-Halley, LMSW
Director of Victim Services with the Office of the Attorney General
Also: Survivor of sexual violence
All events are free and open to the public.
When: Friday, April 25th at 6:00 P.M.
Where: Old Town Plaza (outside the Warren Theatre)
…all human beings have the right to be free from violence, the right to be heard, and the right to reclaim those rights if they are violated… (Unifying theme from Take Back The Night)
Wichita, Kan.—According to national statistics one in every three women will experience sexual violence in her lifetime. Additionally, one in four girls will experience sexual violence before she is 18, one in 6 boys before he is 18 and one in 10 men in his lifetime.
The fact that this happens everywhere, including our neighborhoods, makes sexual violence more than a woman’s issue. Sexual violence is a community issue.
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Here are Your 39 Beat Officers
Community Policing: Officer Lowe
First Shift: Officer Crafton and Officer Sundquist
Second Shift: Officer Heyen
Third Shift: Officer Cox
Fourth Shift: Officer Lewis and Officer Izzard
SCAT: Officer Noack
Crime Statistics
Curious about what’s going on in your area, here are some sources to check out:
Kansas.com
Wichita Eagle (Thursday Paper)
or
GIS Public Web site
http://gis.wichita.gov/outsidegeneral/