UH Security Initiatives – “The Ten Commandments”

UH Security Camera Rebate Program

The Upper Hurstville Security District is currently offering a Security Camera Rebate program.

Click here to view the details.

Initiative #1

Porch Light Initiative – Light up the Premises – Visibility of House Numbers – Report Street Lights Out

Please turn on your porch lights every night. If everyone’s porch lights are on, the neighborhood will be much more illuminated. Illumination deters crime by giving criminals no place to lurk. Please also consider installing bright white lights (metal halide) or a directional flood light fixture illuminating the darker areas of your property, while being considerate and not blinding your neighbors. If you are unable to turn the lights on on your porch each night, consider hooking up or engaging a timer, or even better, a light or night/day sensor as opposed to the motion detection sensor. (Motion detection lighting on interior walkways and behind fencing of course may be very useful.) That way the lights will come on before dusk turns into darkness and will stay on until first light. Finally, make sure your house numbers are easily visible from the street during the day and especially at night. Try to park in well lit areas. If a portion of your street is shrouded in darkness because of heavy trees/foliage or simply lack of light, consider installing homeowner sponsored lighting through Entergy at http://www.entergy-neworleans.com/your_home/securitylighting/ Report all street light outages to info@upperhurstville.com AND call the Department of Public Works at 504-658-8000 between 9-5. You can also dial 311 to speak to a live operator. Some cell phone users may need to dial 504-658-2299.

Initiative #2

Use the Free Escort when Returning to or Leaving your home or business

Always be observant of your surroundings and call the patrol escort at (504) 451-1614 (Pro tip: Set this number as a speed dial on your cell phone) when you return home at night (or any time), especially if you are alone, elderly, have lots of packages, etc. If the escort is busy or otherwise unavailable, and if you park on the street, before entering your house from the street, make sure that you are not being followed, that is, that there are no vehicles or headlights behind you that might pull over a block behind you at the same time you do. If necessary, circle the block to make sure you are not being followed.

Initiative #3

Lock Your Vehicle and Minimize the Contents in plain view

The thieves come to our neighborhood because there are not only ”lots of pickings”, all too often they are “easy” pickings. Our cameras have captured groups of these thugs methodically going through our neighborhoods late at night “trying” door handles for unlocked doors. Vehicle burglaries are the most common crime in our district and most of the time, the victim has failed to simply lock the vehicle. Failure to lock your vehicle is actually attracting crime to our neighborhood. Please double check to make sure you’ve locked ALL of your vehicles and removed or at least covered/hidden any valuable contents. If your vehicle has a trunk, put all valuables in it that cannot be removed practicably from the car each night. Glove compartments, even if locked, are oftentimes not really secure. Resist the temptation to leave a gun in your car. Law enforcement tells us that most of the armed robberies in our area are committed with guns stolen from vehicles within our neighborhoods.

Initiative #4

Lock your Home’s Doors and Gates

This should go without saying.  Locks provide the most basic level of security whether you’re at home or away.  Also, consider installing a security system and be sure to arm it when you leave and even when you are home. Use the “no delay” feature at night that will trigger the alarm immediately when the security of your home has been breached.

Initiative #5

Install One or More Security Cameras

Security cameras can be instrumental not only in identifying criminals, but even more importantly the vehicles in which they travel. They can also help solve a problem next door or several blocks away; law enforcement can find and apprehend the criminals by “patterning” the vehicle by reviewing camera footage throughout the district to help verify eye-witness testimony at the time of the crime. Conversely, your neighbor’s camera can help solve a crime committed on your property.

Initiative #6

Report all Suspicious People to Law Enforcement and Note the Time of Day

Please be vigilant of the various goings on in your neighborhood. Report all “sketchy” people to New Orleans Private Patrol (NOPP) first and then, if necessary to NOPD. When in doubt, call NOPP anyway. Write down the time you called in. Apologies, if in order, for ruffling legitimate feathers, can be made by law enforcement. (The time the crime is committed is of the essence for reviewing video footage from our crime cameras.)

Initiative #7

No Crime is too Small to Report to the Police

Report all crimes to the police and to info@upperhurstville.com, in doing so you are performing a service to your community and your civic duty; by not reporting, you are doing yourself and others a disservice. Report ALL such significant crimes (assaults, batteries, thefts, burglaries and robberies) to the police. It is important to log the time of the crime or if you are not certain exactly when the crime occurred, estimate the earliest possible time it might have occurred AND log the time you discovered that it had occurred. By tightening the time interval, the time it takes to review security camera footage for clues is lessened. We cannot have a real understanding of how crime is affecting our district if folks fail to report crimes to the police (not just the NO Private Patrol). While reporting a crime may involve some patience and waiting for an officer to call, especially if there is evidence of the crime that needs examining, bear in mind that many crimes should and can be reported the next day or even later if the evidence at the scene is not dispositive.

Initiative #8

Resist the Urge to Fight Back or Intervene in a Crime

Criminals are criminals because they aren’t bright enough to make it in the real world. Having someone who doesn’t process well or have a robust grasp of his or her sensibilities on the other side of a weapon can increase the risk to victims. Please resist the temptation to intervene in a crime being perpetrated on another human unless you are sure the victim’s life is in imminent danger. Most of the time these guys just want our “stuff”. If you are the target of a crime, just give them what they want, get new “stuff”, and live to tell. As soon as it is safe, call 911 and report the crime, the time, and the location, noting any particulars about the perpetrators (such as clothing, body markings or mannerisms) and the vehicles used. We advise you not to ever look the criminal directly in the eyes. If you see a crime in progress, make sure to observe only from a safe distance and vantage point and immediately call 911.

Initiative #9

Volunteer to Serve on the Board of the Security District or a Committee and/or to Host a Crime Camera

If you cannot offer your services to serve on a committee, please consider hosting a crime camera, especially if you are located in a “strategic” location and asked by the Crime Prevention Committee. Please “volunteer” information to our website address by being vigilant of your surroundings. Please report all non-working streetlights, potholes, and shrubbery obscuring STOP or other signs by calling 311 (see above for other phone numbers) and sending a message to info@upperhurstville.com.

Initiative #10

Take Control of and Enjoy your Neighborhood and your Neighbors

Security is always enhanced by getting to know and trust your neighbors. Consider giving one of your trusted neighbors a key to your house to access it if a problem arises while you are out of town. Consider collaborating with your neighbors on how to best situate security cameras so as to achieve “best fit” status and avoid redundancy/overlapping coverage. Walk and enjoy your neighborhood. Hang out on your front porch stoop more often. The more folks are out walking and visiting with each other the more crime is deterred. Thanks for helping to deter crime in Upper Hurstville!