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Do This Before You Need the Police

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Thursday, July 9, 2015

• Keep OPD phone numbers handy.

  • OPD emergency, landline: 911. (Call 777-7777, the OPD emergency line, if 911 gives a busy signal)
  • OPD emergency, cell phone: 777-3211
  • OPD non-emergency: 777-3333
  • Fire Department non-emergency: 444-3322

• Don't leave valuables - purse, wallet, cell phone, computer, tablet - in your car or easily visible through windows in your home.

•  If you have or plan to install security cameras, make them visible as an additional deterrent.

•  Be aware of your surroundings when walking on the street, and especially when leaving your car to enter the house.

•  Do not walk and talk on a cell phone without at least assessing your surroundings for possible threats.

•  Have good lighting around your home. Put lights on motion sensors; leave the porch light on at night.

•  Secure your gates and garage doors. Lock outside tool storage areas and ladders securely.

•  Report all instances of crime to the Oakland Police Department, and get a report number. At the least, OPD can use the information to predict and respond to trends. At best, your loss may be recovered.

•  Install an alarm and the provider's identifying sticker.

•  Trim landscaping, especially around windows and where walls and overhangs obscure security views.

•  Screen in-house workers - contractors, their sub-contractors, and day laborers, for example - for reliability and trustworthiness.

•  Find more emergency contact information and news about crime prevention programs at http://safeoakland.com/report-safety-threat/emergency-contact-information.

From information suggested by OPD panel members at the June RCPC Town Hall and the Safe Oakland web site.