Home can be a safe haven, and when our home is encroached upon by trespassers, we feel unsafe. In an earlier blog post, “What Makes Tucson AZ One of the Safest Places to Live,” I broke down what criteria made Tucson, AZ, a safe place to live. And while Tucson is safer than most, there are practical steps that can reduce crime even more.
Maintain your safe haven and explore these five safety tips on ways to make your neighborhood safer!
Get to Know Your Neighbors
Getting to know more about your neighbors often comes in handy. Do you need a housesitter for your weekend away? Someone to water the plants? Feed your dog? If you know your neighbors, they can help with immediate problems in your neighborhood.
Moreover, the better you know your neighbors, the better you can spot suspicious activity. For instance, if you know your neighbor does not get home from work until 4 p.m. but you spot an unfamiliar vehicle in their driveway, you could alert him or her personally about what you saw.
If you watch out for your neighbors, they will likely watch out for you. It certainly does take a village.
Start a Neighborhood Watch
As you get to know more about your neighbors, suggest forming a neighborhood watch group (if a group is not already established). Neighborhood watch groups assist communities in raising awareness and reducing crime.
“Neighborhood action is more likely to produce desired results compared to people acting individually,” the Community Tool Box website reads. “The general principle is that people acting together are generally more effective in reaching their goals than people acting by themselves. There is strength in numbers.”
In other words, two heads are better than one. A large group of people working towards a similar goal will acquire more resources and support. You and your neighbors will feel less alone and benefit from a better quality of life.
Install Home Security
Home security systems are taking the neighborhood watch to a new level. Now you can oversee your home from anytime and anywhere, depending on your chosen home security system. Cameras set up in and around your home provide indisputable evidence against criminal activity. Now police can solve neighborhood crime cases faster than previous years.
Moreover, alarm systems blare enough noise to make any wrongdoer run and signal your neighbors for help. With enough cooperation in your neighborhood to install home security systems, you will build a reputation as a secure community.
Improve Lighting
Criminals prefer to hide in the shadows, targeting residential areas with low lighting, large empty spaces, and multiple entry points. Anywhere trespassers can go unseen, they strike. Keeping a well-lit street or installing motion-detector lights deters criminals from intrusion.
The porch light acts as a spotlight, alerting you to any activity going on outside. Encourage your neighbors to consider installing motion detectors or engaging in porch light safety to keep an eye on suspicious activity.
Maintain Your Yard
Security measures can go as far as the shrubbery in your front yard. All bushes and hedges, for example, should be kept at three feet or shorter to hinder hiding places. Prickly bushes around your windows or a fence around your yard can deter perpetrators from entering. In addition, gravel around your home can offer a cheaper but noisy alarm system.
Beyond natural surveillance, a well-kept yard shows you care about your home and the community you live in. These cues suggest to others that your neighborhood is strongly organized.
Solve two problems with one solution by pioneering a neighborhood clean-up solution. Studies show that working with your neighbors on neighborhood efforts, such as clean-ups, promotes less crime. Neighborhood clean-up days also help foster relationships between neighbors while creating a better image for your block.
Working with a land lot specialist can help ensure that you find the exact property that you are seeking while avoiding issues that could get in the way of your goals for the property. Contact me at rick@buytucsonlots.com or 520-918-5477 for your land lot needs today!
