What's Blogworthy in Brisbane

A series of home burglaries have been reported in the past few weeks, leading Brisbane Police to urge residents to be on the lookout for suspicious people, cars, and activity. All of these incidents involved homes where doors and windows were left unlocked, thus allowing someone to enter the home with little effort. In some of these occurrences, light, easy-to-carry items have been taken. These episodes have occurred both during daytime and nighttime hours.

Most suspects committing this type of crime are not skilled professionals, and they will take advantage of an easy target when given the opportunity. Don’t make it easy for them. Please lock your windows and doors when you are not at home and check that your windows and doors are securely locked before you go to bed at night. Remember, you are the eyes and ears of our community and we depend on you to call the police when you see or hear something that is out of the ordinary. The number to call would be Police Dispatch, by dialing 9-1-1.

Below are some Burglary Prevention Tips worth your review:

1. Lock your doors every time you leave the house, even if it’s just for a few minutes during the day. The most popular times for residential burglaries are weekday daylight hours. In over 1/3 of burglaries, there is no forcible entry--someone forgot to lock the doors.

2. Keep garage doors closed and locked.

3. Secure sliding doors and windows. Cut a broom handle to the length of the bottom track so that the window or door will not slide open when forced. Also, drill one hole through both casings and sliding window and insert a nail or pin.

4. Mark or take photos of your property. Mark your valuables with an engraver or take photos of them. Doing this protects your property and serves as a deterrent to would-be burglars and it helps police in identifying and returning stolen property. Make a property identification list. Put warning stickers on doors and windows.

5. Purchase a burglar alarm. A home alarm system can be a very effective burglary deterrent and fit into many people's needs. Remember to test your system monthly.

7. Leave a light on. When leaving on trips, leave a light on in the bathroom. In the bedroom, attach a lamp and radio to a 24-hour electric timer set to go on at dusk and off at your bedtime. Close bedroom drapes or blinds.

8. Use proper exterior lighting. Place a light over every door. Install double cone lights on each corner of the house, as this will also light up windows.

9. Work together with your neighbors. When you are going to be away, tell trusted neighbors and ask them to watch your property. Contact the police department and request a house check of your residence while you are gone. Have someone pick up your newspapers and mail or place a hold on these services while you are away. Tell neighbors to call police if they notice anything suspicious.

10. Contact your police department if you hear or see anything unusual by calling Police Dispatch at 911.

By working together, we can each play a part in helping keep Brisbane the safe community it’s always been.

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Also blogworthy this week is the possibility of an upcoming eradication program being implemented for the Light Brown Apple Moth. You may recall that from a previous posting that there had been a federal quarantine order to try and curb the spread of the moth, seen as a major threat to California's $38 bil. agriculture industry. The new eradication program involves aerial applications of pheromone for mating disruption for all Peninsula cities located near the coastline, which of course includes Brisbane. This action plan is scheduled to begin August 1, 2008. If you want to receive e-mail updates from California Dept. of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), please click here. There is also a link on that page you can click on to read more about the proposed eradication/action plan. A public scoping meeting is set to take place in San Francisco this coming Monday (2/25) from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the SF County Fair Building Auditorium (located next to the Aboretum). More detailed information can be found in a news release by the CDFA.