City Departments

The Anacortes Police Department has many active Crime Prevention Programs. Through our schools we teach drug education and resistance (DARE), bike safety, Stranger Danger and participate in the RIF (Reading is FUNdamental) program and other presentations as requested or needed. We also have booths at community events such as the Waterfront Festival and Kids-R-Best Fest.

The Crime Prevention division also oversees the Citizen’s Auxiliary Patrol and the Citizens Academy. While we do not sponsor an “official” Block Watch program, we do support self-starting groups in area’s that have identified specific problems in their neighborhood.

Anacortes Police Department also participates in the National Night Out Against Crime (NNO). This is a nationwide, annual event encouraging neighborhoods to band together and “give neighborhood crime and drugs a going away party.” NNO is the first Tuesday in August. In 2003, Anacortes had three block parties and a community picnic. We would love to see those numbers increase for 2004. If you are interested in hosting a NNO block party, contact Officer Del Ferrell, 293-4684 or farrelld@cityofanacortes.org.

If you are interested in a presentation or do not see the subject you were looking for, Contact Officer Ferrell by phone (360)293-4684 or email farrelld@cityofanacortes.org

Links to:
Washington State Crime Prevention Association www.wscp.innw.com
National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
National Association of Town Watch (NNO sponsors) www.natw.org

Crime Prevention Tips
The crimes we fear the most occur the least. Armed robbery, severe assault, murder and rape, while highly publicized are relatively rare; the average citizen is unlikely to become a victim. Prevention consists of common-sense measures; avoid dangerous areas, especially alone at night, use street lights for visibility, stay in view of others, walk in groups when leaving public events and call for police assistance if you have any reason to feel suspicious.

When we speak of crime prevention, in most cases the crimes to be prevented are burglary, car prowls and vandalism. They are the most common crimes and most likely to happen to the average citizen, regardless of location or social status. Burglary is a crime of opportunity. Burglars and car prowlers seek easy targets, empty homes with easy, hidden entry, unlocked cars with visible valuables inside. Defense against burglaries and car prowls (and the companion crime of vandalism) rest on three principles:

1. Reduce the criminals motivation
2. Reduce the criminals opportunity
3. Increase the difficulty of committing the crime successfully


Reducing Motivation:

• Notice strange people in your neighborhood, and make sure they know it! Burglars
  often park their cars and case the area, noting which houses are unoccupied and
  how they might enter unnoticed.
• Hold a block watch party. Getting together with your neighbors builds a sense of
  community and interdependence. The posted block watch signs tell a potential
  burglar that people are watching and the neighborhood cares.
• Lock your vehicle!!! Do not leave valuables (cell phone, CD holders,
  purses/wallets etc) visible inside the vehicle.
• Mark you major possessions with an engraver. Use your Washington driver’s license
  number or some other unique manner of identification. This makes your item I
  identifiable and more difficult to pawn.
• Use your imagination to protect your home and property. One person posts a sign
  “day sleeper” in his window, another puts a large dog dish and a pair of mens boots
  outside her back door. Leaving a radio or TV turned on creates the illusion that the
  house is occupied. Timers are now available that will vary the times that lights are
  turned on and off so the house seems occupied.
• Sign up for vacation house checks if you are going to be out of town. Our Citizens
  Auxiliary Patrol will check your house and advise the police department if anything
  seems out of place. Also, put a hold on your mail and paper delivery while you are
  gone.

Reducing Opportunity:

• Keep your hedges and bushes trimmed. Houses with large bushes offer cover for a
  burglar who breaks a window. Make it impossible to stand next to your house without
  being seen.
• Install perimeter lighting. Make sure a burglar cannot approach and entrance in
  darkness. Inexpensive lights are available which detect motion. Installed on a back
  porch, they illuminate the area if anyone approaches.
• Get to know your neighbors. They more you know about them, the more you will
  notice anything unusual. Establish an attitude of mutual watchfulness with them.
• Report anything suspicious. You are our most effected eyes and ears. The police are
  interested in anything suspicious, whether or not a crime is being committed. If
  anything strikes you as suspicious (slow moving vehicles, suspicious persons,
  vehicles being loaded with valuables etc) report it by calling 911. Don’t worry about
  causing a problem, it is our job to check these things out.

Increasing Difficulty:

• No home is burglar proof, but any home can be made difficult to enter. The object is to make it impossible to enter without breaking a door or window.
• Keyed locks are available to add to most existing aluminum sliding doors and windows. They can be fitted into existing tracks and prevent opening without a key.
• Deadbolts cannot be forced with a credit card. We recommend a 1.5’ throw (how far it goes into the doorframe), this makes it harder to force the door open. Remember, a deadbolt keyed on both sides is doubly difficult. The burglar might get in a window but needs to get the loot out the door. For safety, leave a key near the door when you are home.
• Harden doors by fastening the striker plate with six-inch screws passing into the stud wall. Replace one screw on each hinge with a protruding nail and leave the opposite screw out. If the hinge is pulled, the door still cannot be removed.
• Anti-jimmy bars, as simple as a piece of wood, can be laid in sliding window tracks to prevent their opening. More sophisticated bars can be locked into place.

Reducing vandalism:
Often, vandalism is caused by young people in the immediate neighborhood. If you suspect that is the case, remember to keep a rational perspective. You can help solve the problem by speaking with the parents, reporting the activity to the police and getting to know the potential offenders. Continuous effort is necessary to solve the problem. Even when an arrest can be made, the irate homeowner may not be satisfied with the results. Remember that persistence pays and over reaction hurts. Threatening violence or displaying a firearm does not help and exposes you to liability and criminal charges.