Precinct 5 PENS May 2019
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 summertime 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; mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water
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.
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
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. Inspect the seat height, make sure tires are inflated, and your bike has proper reflectors.
- Plan to be seen by wearing bright clothing. If you're riding at night, use flashing lights.
- Wear a helmet and ensure it's the proper size, the chin strap buckle is centered, and position your helmet level on your head.
- Follow rules of the road by riding single-file in the direction of traffic and using hand signals.
Current Crime Trends
Entering Autos
Ladies and Gentlemen, our current crime trend continues to be Entering Autos. Overnight residential Entering Auto incidents have declined, but Entering Auto incidents during the day at Parks and Recreation facilities 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.
What You Can Do
Burglary Prevention
- Lock your doors, including the one from the garage
- Keep garage doors closed-check before bed every night
- Motion sensor activated lighting
- 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
- Anti-Theft mailboxes with a special locking system
- 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.
PENS is also sending out bulletins and alerts through its partnership with Nextdoor.com. Discover if your neighborhood is already signed up so you may join. If not, they will provide you with the necessary information.
Stay Safe,
Det. Lieutenant J.B Wade
Det. Sergeant W.R. Pettitt
Det. Sergeant R.E. Hecksher
Criminal Investigation Unit Pct. 5
4640 Dallas Highway
Powder Springs, GA 30127
(770) 499-4578