By: Nancy Gonzales

Have you noticed that neighborhoods are not the same as they used to be? There used to be kids outside playing with their friends. Today, neighborhoods are not safe, and the reason is that there might be some people that speed in their cars while the kids try to play. Neighborhood safety is a team effort, but it starts with you. Not feeling secure at your neighborhood creates concerns. Maybe you are wondering what can you do to make your neighborhood a safer, cleaner place? With the following tips, you can make your neighborhood a lot better.

 

• Know your neighbors

 

You might need to have a way to reach your neighbors if they’re gone and something is amiss in the neighborhood. Feel free to contact them if you see out-of-the-ordinary or suspicious behavior around their home or if you want them to check on your house while you are out. You might even help develop a calling tree.

 

• Keep up with your yard and encourage your neighbors to do the same

 

A neighborhood with mowed lawns, flowers, and freshly painted homes looks like it’s cared for, and this alone can help deter crime. A well-kept yard provides fewer places for suspicious persons to take cover. Be on the lookout if there is an abandoned house in your neighborhood; everybody can work together to clean up weeds, plant trees, and do some fixing up on the exterior.

 

• Be extra cautious when you go out of town

 

You can talk to your neighbors to create a plan while you are out. Someone can mow your lawn, shovel your rocks, or pick up your mail and newspaper. It’s also helpful to have a security system that allows you to turn lamps on or off remotely.

 

• Close your blinds and windows at night

 

Having a big screen TV is  less enticing to steal if no one knows it’s there. When you leave your blinds open and your lights on at night, iit  provides a free look into your house, its layout, and the habits of its occupants. Leaving windows open at night or when you are gone is an invitation for an uninvited guest to come in.

 

• Improve the lightning on your street

 

Street lamps are not the only way to do this. Ask that each household turns on their porch lights as it begins to get dark and install motion-sensor lights in the back or sides of the house so potential intruders don’t have the darkness to hide in.

 

• Encourage outdoor activity

 

Plan a walk with your neighbor, work on your yard, and if you have kids, let them play with the neighbors down the street. To make it even better, you can plan a cookout. This may encourage people to feel comfortable spending time out in the neighborhood.

 

• Know your local police department

 

This is the most important thing that you need to do to keep your neighborhood clean and safe. You can express to them your desire to keep the neighborhood safe and notify them of specific ways they can help. An example could be if cars are speeding through, you can ask them to patrol the streets. You might even work with the department to start a Neighborhood Watch Program.

 

• Install a security system

 

In the end, one of the surest options to improve safety in your neighborhood is to get a home security system and use it properly. When the number of home security system increase in an area, the number of residential robberies decrease in that area. Find out which security system works best with your home.

Someone needs to start improving neighborhoods, and that should be you. As you get to know your neighbors, discuss your concerns and ideas that you have. You’ll find out that your neighborhood becomes not only safer place to be, but a more enjoyable one.