Precinct 5 PENS May 2021
Welcome to this month’s PENS, Police Email Notification System bulletin. This monthly bulletin is brought to you from the Cobb County Police, Precinct 5 Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU5) and is designed to keep you aware of safety alerts and crime trends in your area and measures you can take to keep you and your family safe.
Public Safety Topic of the Month
Summer Safety Tips
We have reached the end of another school year and “Summer Time” is right around the corner. Kids will be out of school and the temperatures will be on the rise. We would like to pass along a few safety tips to keep you and your kids safe this Summer.
Beat the Heat
Anybody can be at risk for a heat-related illness (heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps). Those most at risk include infants, young children, elderly, pets, and people working or playing outdoors.
- Take extra breaks.
- Drink lots of water.
Bug Safety
Mosquitoes can cause a number of illnesses, including Zika Virus and West Nile Virus. To prevent being infected:
- Use EPA registered insect repellent with DEET.
- Wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants.
- Once a week, scrub or empty planters, birdbaths, and vases as mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water.
Water Safety
Between 800 and 900 children drown every year in the United States. The CDC said the main factors that increase the risk of drowning include:
- Lack of swimming ability.
- Lack of barriers to prevent unsupervised water access.
- Lack of close supervision while swimming.
- Failure to wear life jackets.
Playgrounds
Emergency departments see more than 20,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related brain injuries each year. 80% of playground injuries are caused by falls. Watch out for these potential hazards:
- Improper ground surfaces: Surfaces should have 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, pea gravel, or rubber mats.
- Playgrounds should be free of exposed concrete footings, rocks or tree stumps.
Bike Safety/May is National Bike Month
Bicycling is one of the best ways to get exercise and see the sights. However, bicyclists face many hazards including sharing the road with vehicles. It is vital to follow these safety precautions:
- Always inspect your bike prior to riding. (seat height, tires inflated, proper reflectors)
- Plan to be seen. (wear bright clothing, if riding at night use flashing lights)
- Wear a Helmet. (ensure proper size, center chin strap buckle, position helmet level on your head)
- Follow Rules of the Road. (Ride single-file in direction of traffic, use hand signals)
Current Crime Trends
Entering Autos
Ladies and Gentlemen, our current crime trends continue to be Entering Autos. The overnight residential Entering Autos have declined but the daytime Parks and Recreation Facility Entering Autos have increased. If you can’t take valuables and weapons with you when you leave your vehicle, stop prior to parking in the parking lot and lock items in the glovebox, center console, or trunk. Perpetrators will sit in the parking lot and watch you hide or lock valuables in your trunk. Also, double check that ALL vehicle doors are locked.
Theft of Lumber
Ladies and Gentlemen, one of our current crime trends has become the theft of lumber and building materials. With the prices of lumber being very high, we have had several incidents of unknown individuals coming to new construction neighborhoods and loading up trucks and trailers with as much lumber as they can. If you are a builder, real estate agent, or resident of a new construction subdivision we want you to be aware of these thefts.
Things you can do:
- Secure the lumber in a locked enclosure.
- Schedule deliveries for the days you will be using the product.
- Have a good camera system that records the lumber and all vehicles coming in and out.
- Have the residents already living in the subdivision be on the lookout for the thefts.
- Have them immediately call 911.
- Get a good description of the persons and vehicles.
- If possible, obtain a tag number and advise the 911 operator the direction they leave.
Pine Straw Scam
Cobb County Police Precinct 5 Criminal Investigation Unit would like to pass along some information regarding a Pine Straw Scam that has been going on in Cobb County for the past year.
How the Scam Works:
Workers approach homeowners and explain they are in the area working, have extra pine straw, then offer to sell and spread the pine straw for approximately $4.00 per bale. Depending on the size of the yard, the agreement is to spread approximately 10-50 bales of pine straw.
At some point, the workers contact the homeowner and say that they will take more pine straw than anticipated to complete the job. The homeowner agrees with the assumption it will only take a few more bales to complete the job.
When the workers finish the job, they advise the homeowner they installed approximately 4 times the bales the homeowner anticipated. The workers then try to collect several thousands of dollars for the work they claim they did. In most of the cases, the homeowners start negotiating a rate higher than agreed upon initially, but lower than the workers are asking simply to get them to leave.
Avoiding the Scam:
- Use extreme caution when dealing with walk-up salespeople.
- Ask them for a business card or website so that you can research the business before they start the work.
- If possible, obtain the business name, employee names, phone numbers, and tag numbers.
- Check for a Cobb County Business License and Better Business Bureau review.
- If it is a verbal agreement, record the conversation, agree on the specific work that you want to be done, and agree on a specific final price before any work starts.
- Trying to save a few dollars is not worth it. Use a local reputable company that is established, licensed, and insured.
- If you feel that you are being scammed or intimidated to pay a higher amount immediately call 911 to have the issue reported and hopefully resolved.
What You Can Do
Burglary Prevention
- Lock your doors, including the one from the garage.
- Keep garage doors closed-check before bed every night.
- Use motion sensor-activated lighting.
- Use surveillance cameras.
Entering Auto Prevention
- Lock your vehicles and remove items of value and items that appear to contain valuables.
- If you can’t keep them with you, secure your valuables in the trunk before reaching your location.
- Keep your vehicle locked and your purse or wallet on your person while fueling at the gas station.
Postal Theft
- Use anti-theft mailboxes with a special locking system.
- Use security cameras.
- Do not raise the mail flag.
- Do not send cash, checks, or anything that has credit card information.
Remember to CALL 911 to report any suspicious persons or activity. If you see something, say something!
Cobb County Camera Registry
The Cobb County Police Camera Registration program is a police/community video partnership that operates on a voluntary basis with homeowners, neighborhoods and business owners who own private video surveillance systems. We encourage both businesses and residents to register their cameras online by completing the form below.
This program is intended to let our officers know where cameras are active in the county in case a crime occurs. It is not intended for active surveillance, and officers will not have direct access to homeowners' cameras. Those who register a camera will be contacted if a crime occurs in the vicinity of that camera.
Information provided by residents and businesses will be maintained in a secure database.
If you have not already signed up to receive the monthly PENS updates, please subscribe. Feel free to forward this e-mail to your HOA members and local businesses.
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Stay Safe,
Det. Lieutenant J.B Wade
Det. Sergeant W.R. Pettitt
Cobb County Police Department
Criminal Investigation Unit Pct. 5
4640 Dallas Highway
Powder Springs, GA 30127
(770) 499-4578