This last month has just been very busy.  I went to a training on Citizen Police Academies and have some changes in mind for ours. I’m not sure I will be able to implement them this year but I hope to make it more hands on in the future.  We are still doing a lot of hiring of Officers so we are still unable at this time to do any ride-a-longs, but once that is done, if you have completed a Bellevue Citizen’s Police Academy you will be eligible.  The Citizen’s Academy will start September 2^nd  through November 11^th. Let me know if you are interested in attending.

Right now, we are getting ready for the National Night Out on August 3rd.  It will be here before you know it.  Please  let me know if you plan on having a party. 

In the host’s bags there will be 2 T-Shirts and a Radon Test Kit (these are for the hosts to keep or give away). There will also be glow necklaces, stickers, temporary tattoos, and I.D kits for the kids. A Lot of safety information for adults and some Senior Identity theft information and emergency contact numbers. There will be a lot of stuff for everyone in the neighborhood. We will also be asking the party hosts to help us sell some raffle tickets at each party.  We had a Nintendo Wii donated to us by Best Buy in Papillion and will be raffling it off to raise money for Shop with a Cop.

We are also going to have some great prizes.  I’m still waiting to hear about a few so I will update you on that when we get closer to the event. 

We will have less Police Officers available this year, so we are going to start a little early by request.  If you small kids who go to bed early or you are not able to keep the party going to 9 p.m. let me know and I will put you on the early list that we will be starting at 5:00 p.m. If you want to keep the traditional time of 6 p.m. - 9p.m. that is fine too.  Hopefully, this way we can get someone to every party.  We will do our best. 

In other news, the summer is here and crime is up.  As always when the weather gets nice we have a rise in our thefts from vehicles, vandalism, and other criminal mischief.  Please make sure if you are not in your garage or near it, the door is shut.  Open garage door burglaries always go up in the summer.  If you are mowing your yard in the back, you can’t see what is going on in your garage.  This happens no matter what time of day it is.  Especially at night, double check that the garage door is shut.  If you see your neighbor has left there garage open, walk over there and remind them that it is an invitation to get their tools stolen.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER AND STAY SAFE!

 Sunday morning I received the following email from one of the Neighborhood Watch Captains (she gave me permission to post it).  It looks like we had a spree of mailboxes getting bashed Saturday night. Please follow her advice and stay vigilant, call the police if you hear anything at night. We would love to catch the parties responsible. 

This may be of interest to some of you. This was written during recovery and shows one addicts daily struggle to forgive themselves and their ongoing battle for life long sobriety…

What you don’t know or fail to see,is a hopeless disease that at anytime can take control of me.

I really don’t want to use,so I pray I’ll stay strong.But if only I knew,where I went wrong.

Past memories so sad,at times consumed by rage.But,giving into the craving,will only create my cage.

I know I should be proud,look at how far I’ve come.But learning to love myself,will be easier said then done.

And if they chose to see me,with judgment in their eyes.I’ll do my best to be strong, and hold my head up high.

There is one more thing I’d like to make you see Is that,although my battles may seem won,a war my friend,forever rages on, deep inside of me.

So this is the life of an addict….

And it’s now plain as day to see,that the reflection I see in the mirror,is the addict living with me!

Click on the Links below for a couple great articles on Texting. 

The first one talks about textingand driving and the consequences of.  There is a video attached, it is a real eye opener.

The second one is on Teens and sexting and the dangers of.  For those of you who don’t know, sexting is when individuals use there texting to send sexual messages and provocative pictures.

http://ut.zerofatalities.com/

http://crimeprevention.crimereports.com/2010/03/17/teens-sexting-and-blackmail-at-a-wisconsin-high-school/

I received an email from a friend of my with some great tips on preventing Identity Theaft, so I thought I would share them with you:

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put “Photo ID Required.”

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts,  DO NOT put the complete  account number on the ‘For’ line. Instead, just put the  last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through
all the check processing channels won’t have access to it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address.. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never  have your  SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license,credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of theaccount numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

Also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We’ve all heard horror stories about fraud that’s committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

5. We have been told we should  cancel our  credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6.  File a  police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc.,were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

7. Call  the 3 national credit reporting organizations  immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank
that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit..

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax:  1-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

You may want to think twice the next time you put a check in the mail to pay your bills.  Flagging is a trend that we have started to see in Bellevue.  We have had a couple of people report that they had put a check in the mail to pay a bill and it was cashed by an unknown party in a different amount.  The individual who got caught told the officer that he drove down the street looking for mailboxes with the flag up. He would go through the mail looking for a bill and would take the check out.  He was then able to clean the ink off with rubbing alcohol and put his name on the check and in these cases changed the amount as well. 

Keep this in mind if you have a traditional mail box and you still pay your bills by mail. If you do you may want to go the extra step and take your mail to the post office.  This is just another thing to be aware of.  If you see someone other than the mail carrier in your neighbor’s mail box give us a call. They are probably up to no good.

Last night in the Heritage Hills area several mailboxes got hit with a baseball bat.  This is something that we don’t usually see when it is this cold out, but it is a wake up call that we still need to be vigilant.  If you see a car driving slowly down your street and you don’t recognize it give us a call.  If your dog starts to bark, or if you hear other neighborhood dogs barking, get up and look out your window and see if you see anything. If you think you hear any loud noises give us a call to check the area.  A baseball bat meeting a mail box does make a loud noise.  We would like to catch these kids in the act and could use your help.  I’m sure this wasn’t their first night out and since they haven’t been caught it won’t be there last.  Call 911 or 293-3100 if you see anything suspicious.  Any thing out of the ordinary is suspicious.

I don’t have a lot of information for you, but wanted to let you know that a woman was stabbed in the area of 41st and Souther Hills Dr. today at about 1:00 p.m. The suspect is in custoday and there is no threat to the Neighborhood.