What’s ‘suspicious’? Glad you asked!

By Carmen Gonzalez Caldwell

Many have asked recently what is a “suspicious activity.” What about if I call the police then I am wrong and it’s a neighbor? Will the police get mad if I bother them with my call? Many of you hesitate when calling due to these questions, but I can tell you that the answer is better to be safe than sorry, and no, the police don’t mind you calling, even if it turns out to be nothing. The importance of knowing your neighbors is crucial in learning to know what is a “suspicious” activity. If you don’t know who belongs, how can you expect the police to know? As I say in my crime watch meetings, in the 30 years I have been doing this program, I have not met a police officer that has mental telepathy. So today I am going to give you some pointers on what is generally a suspicious incident, but again you and only you can make that very important call to police when something doesn’t look normal or right.

• A “suspicious” activity can refer to any incident, event, individual or activity that seems unusual or out of place. Some common examples of suspicious activities can include:

• A stranger loitering in your neighborhood or a vehicle cruising the street repeatedly.

• Someone peering into cars or windows.

• A high volume of traffic going to and coming from a house on a daily basis.

• Kids walking around during schools hours.

• Strange odors coming from a house, building or car.

• Someone loitering around schools or parks.

• Solicitors without appropriate identification or a city or county license with their picture.

• People arriving or leaving from a home at extremely strange hours.

• A person knocking on doors asking for money, direction or some story that you are not comfortable with.

• Last but not least, due to foreclosures and abandoned houses, people all of sudden moving in as if they belong on the property, especially if they arrive in the middle of the night.

The effectiveness of police efforts is enhanced by active help from citizens. By calling to report suspicious persons or activity, you not only aid the police, you also make your community a safer place to live. Some people fail to call because they are not aware of what is happening, giving the criminal an opportunity to act. Others feel that they don’t want to be “nosy,” but then they find out that their neighborhood has been compromised with a criminal incident. As I said before, police don’t have mental telepathy. They don’t know your neighborhood as well as you do. So its up to you and please don’t take it for granted that someone else is going to call the police. Everyone should have their local police department “non-emergency” number listed in their cell phones, just for these incidents. As always if it’s a crime in progress, someone breaking in, someone being hurt or attacked, always dial 9-1-1 immediately.

We the citizens are the “eyes and ears” of police. We are the ones that determine what kind of neighborhood we want to live in.

Be safe and stay involved!