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The City of Cerritos Community Safety Division and the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station continue to work hard to provide the best possible public safety services to the community. Educating residents about crime trends and prevention strategies remains as important as ever, and the community is encouraged to remain vigilant and, if you “See Something, Say Something.”
To help keep Cerritos safe, the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station/Community Safety Center has created two new programs to help with crime abatement in the City.
The first new program is Operation Night Light, which attempts to reduce nighttime residential and vehicle burglaries within our region. Enhanced daytime patrols, security cameras and automatic license plate reading technologies have caused many would-be burglars to start committing their illegal activities at night. More thieves are surveilling residential neighborhoods at sunset and beyond, looking for homes that appear to be unoccupied. Homes that have no exterior or interior lights on draw the attention of would-be burglars.
Operation Night Light is a new strategy designed to dissuade would-be criminals during the hours of darkness. Anyone can participate in Operation Night Light by simply turning on their porch light each day from dusk until dawn. Light bulbs equipped with photo sensors do this automatically.
A lit porch light will brighten your property and let others know that residents on your street are part of an active Neighborhood Watch program. Operation Night Light gives criminals what they don’t want: well-lit areas and exposure. The motto of Operation Night Light is: “Keep ‘em on to keep ‘em out!”
The second new program is the Homeowner Burglary Abatement Project. This program aims to reduce overall residential burglaries occurring in the area. The strategy of this project is simple: make your home look and sound occupied, even when you are not at home. Homes that appear unoccupied are welcome targets for burglars. Through small efforts, you can make your home less appealing to criminals. Avoid becoming a victim of a residential burglary by following the tips below:
• Join Neighborhood Watch
• Participate in Operation Night Light
• Lock your doors and windows when you are away.
• Maintain landscape and do not allow shrubbery to obscure doors and windows.
•Remove mail/papers/pamphlets from street view.
• Do not post travel photos on social media when you are out of town.
• Leave a radio playing (daytime) and lights on (nighttime).
• Consider leaving an operable car parked in your driveway to feign occupancy.
• Post “alarm” and “beware of dog” signs.
• Lock your backyard gate.
• Reinforce your front door with kick-resistant locks, floor bolts and lengthy patio screws.
• Install and use an alarm/camera system.
• Install a doorbell with an Internet camera connection. Be sure to purchase the equipment from a manufacturer with a good security record.
• Install shatter resistant security film on your first floor glass windows and patio door.
• Purchase a safe that is UL rated “residential security container” or higher. For better security and retention, bolt your safe into wooden studs or your home’s foundation, or secure it in concrete.
For more crime prevention tips and access to current crime reports, statistics and maps, visit safercerritos.com and crimemapping.com. Together we can harden the target and help our Cerritos Sheriff’s Station/Community Safety Center keep our City safe.
