Full Notification

Thank you to everyone who braved the bad weather to attend our Holiday Safety Forum last night which was hosted by the El Cerrito Crime Prevention Committee.

Randy Reed of Reed Brothers Security in Oakland provided attendees with a comprehensive overview of the construction of residential front doors and how to improve their overall strength and security. Mr. Reed is a wealth of knowledge on the topic of home security and security products.

Detective Corporal Elder of the El Cerrito Police Department also covered some specific safety topics to keep in mind during the holiday season. These were some of the tips covered during the event:

Traveling Out of town
• Stop mail/newspaper delivery while out of town
• Vacation home check through police department web site
• Talk with neighbors and tell them your travel plans
• Ask a neighbor to park their own vehicle in your driveway

Social Media
• Don’t post on social media about your travel plans
• Don’t advertise all of the expensive gifts you and your family received during the holiday

Shopping
• Bring only the credit cards/cash/identification you need to make purchases
• Keep your wallet/purse and other valuables on you at all times and out of view
• Don’t allow yourself to be distracted- Limit the use of your cell phone for calls and texts
• If it seems too good to be true… it definitely is…don’t be the victim of a scam
• Don’t overload yourself with bags and packages while shopping
• Don’t leave your wallet/purse on the counter while paying for items
• Don’t lock your purse and/or packages inside your vehicle and leave them unattended
• Go shopping in a group instead of alone and if possible go out during the daylight

Package Delivery
• If possible require that delivery needs to be signed for instead of just being left on porch
• Ask that the package be left in a different location (dropped over fence or with neighbor
• Consider having package delivered to work or use a secure package delivery lockers

On-line Shopping
• Only use reputable retail websites when doing online shopping
• Check credit card/bank statements after holidays to note unauthorized activity

Vehicle
• Don’t leave suitcases/luggage in car while shopping, eating and visiting with family and friends
• Leave nothing valuable in view… remove it from the vehicle
• Always lock and secure all the windows and door of vehicle
• When walking back to your vehicle, have your car keys in hand so that you can immediately enter your vehicle or use the panic function in the event of an emergency